Full Metal Warrior
by Joseph Ida
Summary: Squirrelkit and Leafkit are conscripted into a war that they don't know about, will they be able to survive this new war or would they end up being traumatized due to the nature of this war? Rated M as a warning. Warriors belongs to its original owners so that's a disclaimer. Will try to make this as accurate as possible to the time that this war would be focused on.
1. Hello Vietnam

Years after the Great War that claimed millions of lives, we thought we could have peace but because of political decisions and our clans policy to "Police the world" we're drawn into more conflict growing up and with that thought of the scary nuclear war looming over us, we don't know what will happen. Somehow, some way we will be there in the thick of it.

**Allegiances: New conflict, new characters but same clans:**

**Thunderclan:**

**Leader:** Firestar (Rank: Staff Sergeant, Weapon: M16A1)

**Deputy:** Graystripe (Rank Sergeant, Weapon: IMI Uzi)

**Medicine cat:** Cinderpelt (Rank: Combat medic, Weapon: L1A1)

**Warriors: (Toms and she-cat without recruits)**

Mousefur (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: M2 Carbine)

Dustpelt (Rank: Corporal Lance, Weapon: M16A1)

Sandstorm (Rank: Corporal Lance, Weapon: M16A1)

Cloudtail (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: M60, PPSh-41 in close quarters)

Brackenfur (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M3A1 Grease Gun)

Brightheart (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M14)

Thornclaw (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Brambleclaw (Rank: PFC, Weapon: H&K MP5)

Ashfur (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16)

Rainwhisker (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M60)

Sootfur (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

**Apprentices: (Rookies training)**

Sorrelpaw (Rank: Private, Weapon: M14)

**Trainers: (Cats training new recruits)**

Goldenflower (Rank: Staff Sergeant, Weapon: M1919A6)

Ferncloud (Rank: PFC, Weapon: R870 Remington)

**Kits: (The Warriors equivalent of a recruit)**

Squirrelkit (Daughter of Firestar and Sandstorm. Born in 1948)

Leafkit (Daughter of Firestar and Sandstorm. Born in 1948)

Whitekit (Daughter of Cloudtail and Brightheart. Born in 1947)

Spiderkit (Son of Ferncloud and Dustpelt. Born in 1946)

Shrewkit (Son of Ferncloud and Dustpelt. Born in 1946)

**Elders: (Planners for operations now retired from regular combat)**

Dappletail (Rank: First Sergeant)

Speckletail (Rank: First Sergeant)

Frostfur (Rank: First Sergeant)

Longtail (Rank: First Sergeant, Retired in 1952 after becoming blind in both eyes by shrapnel in the Korean War)

**Shadowclan:**

**Leader: **Blackstar (Rank: First Sergeant, Weapon: MP5)

**Deputy: **Russetfur (Rank: Sergeant, Weapon: M16A1)

**Medicine cat: **Littlecloud: (Rank: Combat medic, Weapon: M14)

**Warriors:**

Oakfur (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: M16A1)

Cedarheart (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M60)

Tawnypelt (Rank: PFC, Weapon: STG 44)

Rowanclaw (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

**Apprentices:**

Smokepaw: (Rank: Private, Weapon: M16A1)

Talonpaw: (Rank: Private, Weapon: M16A1)

**Trainers:**

Tallpoppy (Rank: PFC, Weapon: Mp5)

**Elders:**

Runningnose (Rank: First Sergeant, Former Combat medic)

**Windclan:**

**Leader:** Tallstar (Rank: Brigadier General, Weapon: Sterling SMG)

**Deputy:** Mudclaw (Rank: Sergeant, Weapon: M16A1)

**Medicine cat:** Barkface (Rank: Combat medic, Weapon: R870 Remington)

**Warriors:**

Webfoot (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Whitetail (Rank: PFC, Weapon: L1A1)

Tornear (Rank: PFC, Weapon: Sterling SMG)

Onewhisker (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: Bren Gun Mark 2)

Ashfoot (Rank: Staff Sergeant, Weapon: M60)

**Apprentices:**

Crowpaw (Rank: Private, Weapon: M16A1(Will treat him along with the other apprentices as fresh faced recruits)) (Born to Ashfoot and Deadfoot in 1947)

**Elders:**

MorningFlower (Rank: Major)

**Riverclan:**

**Leader: **Leopardstar (Rank: Sergeant, Weapon: M16A1)

**Deputy:** Mistyfoot (Rank: Caporal Chief, Weapon: M14)

**Medicine cat:** Mudfur (Rank: Combat Medic, Weapon: M16A1)

**Apprentice: **Mothwing (Rank: Junior Medic, Weapon: M16A1)

**Warriors:**

Blackclaw (Rank: Caporal: Weapon: M14)

Heavystep (Rank: Soldat de première classe, Weapon: M60)

Stormfur (Rank: Soldat de première classe, Weapon: M16A1)

Feathertail (Rank: Soldat de première classe, Weapon: M16A1)

Hawkfrost (Rank: Soldat de première classe, Weapon: AK-47)

Mosspelt (Rank: Soldat de première classe, Weapon: M14)

**Apprentices:**

Reedpaw (Rank: Soldat, Weapon: M16A1)

Pikepaw (Rank: Soldat, Weapon: M60)

Primrosepaw (Rank: Soldat, Weapon: M16A1)

Stonepaw (Rank: Soldat, Weapon: M16A1)

**Trainers:**

Dawnflower (Rank: Soldat de première classe, Weapon: M16A1)

**Elders:**

Loudbelly (Rank: First Sergeant)

Shadepelt (Rank: First Sergeant)

**Skyclan: (Or the fanfiction's equivalent of the Canadians)**

**Leader: **Leafstar (Rank: Lieutenant, Weapon: M3A1 Grease Gun)

**Deputy: **Sharpclaw (Rank: Staff Sergeant, Weapon: M16A1)

**Medicine cat: **Echosong (Rank: Combat Medic, Weapon: M14)

**Warriors:**

Patchfoot (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Petalnose (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Sparrowpelt (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Cherrytail (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M60)

Waspwhisker (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: M16A1)

Shrewtooth (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Ebonyclaw (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Billystorm (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: IMI Uzi)

Harveymoon (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: MP5)

Macgyver (Rank: 2nd Lieutenant, Weapon: Stoner 63)

Rockshade (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Bouncefire (Rank: Corporal, Weapon: F1 SMG)

Tinycloud (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M60)

**Trainers:**

Fallowfern (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

Clovertail (Rank: PFC, Weapon: M16A1)

**Kits:**

Rabbitkit (Son of Fallowfern and Waspwhisker. Born in 1949)

Creekkit (Son of Fallowfern and Waspwhisker. Born in 1949)

Nettlekit (Son of Fallowfern and Waspwhisker. Born in 1949)

Plumkit (Daughter of Fallowfern and Waspwhisker. Born in 1949)

**Elders:**

Lichenfur (Rank: Sergeant)

Tangle (Rank: Master Sergreant)

**Without further ado, let's begin.**

Squirrelkit and Leafkit were waiting at a bus stop as they were going to be picked up for a long trip. Their parents, Firestar and Sandstorm left a few days before to brush up on a few things but the kits were old enough to receive what they called proper training. Whitekit dashed over as she made sure to pack for the trip ahead.

"Squirrelkit, Leafkit!" Whitekit called out to them. To their knowledge, Whitekit was their closest thing to family growing up seeing she was the daughter to Firestar's nephew Cloudtail and his one eyed true love, Brightheart. They too went away days before they were told that they should sign themselves up. "You got the papers and everything?" She asked them if they got everything. Leafkit soon got her papers as Squirrelkit got hers.

"Got them." Squirrelkit responded holding up her draft papers. It was clear Thunderclan needed many warriors to head out in times like these since they were in the biggest conflict of the decade. Soon the bus pulled up which would take them to the nearest boot camp but they were going to where the other boot camps were. Squirrelkit and Leafkit soon sat in their seats as Whitekit decided to sit up front. Whitekit soon looked at the bus driver.

"Where you think we will be going?" Whitekit asked him wondering where they would be going. The driver soon turned his head facing the apprentice as he wanted to give her the location.

"You're heading to Parris Island you kits. You seem to be attached to that place especially since Thunderclan needs freshly train kits to help fight their wars. Cats from all over are coming here to train up and help fight alongside the southern sector to help protect the world and keep it free. We don't want any dictatorships showing up at our front door and enforce their harsh ideology on the free thinking cats of Thunderclan." He soon shuts the door as they began to drive off. It was going to be a long drive where they were but they were going to get there eventually.

As it turned out, the bus driver was right about all of this. For the past 20 or so years after the defeat of Shadowclan, the world couldn't think on what ideology was better. Cats wanted the world to be free and unregulated while the bears wanted it to be strict and demanding. Many countries soon fell along as they were split on all of this. Squirrelkit, Leafkit and Whitekit were regular visitors to the local Thunderclan barracks when they were stationed in their free time but nowadays the barracks were empty as many of the older cats were called in to help train in the younger fresher faced kits that will be seeing combat for the first time. Whitekit couldn't bear to see Cloudtail be held up for trial thinking he was one of them that was helping the bears but Cloudtail just said he wanted to help out. And the word became a buzzword thrown around for cats who didn't even like certain things. If you didn't like Hollywood for example you said that word and had them arrested and shut down on the spot and many cats didn't even dare to open their mouths in fear of being taken away. Then came the conflict in Korea where the north and south was divided as former members of Bloodclan really liked the word as they convinced the north to attack the south. This resulted in the lead sniper, Longtail losing his sight from a grenade that was thrown right in front of him and exploding. However the biggest fright came when the clock was 1 minute away from midnight as nuclear missiles were placed in Cuba and if those missiles were removed then the missiles that were in Turkey were obsolete and due to come down and all the cats breathed one big sigh of relief but other news was happening.

The desegregation of the south, political assassinations in Thunderclan and all out nuclear war were some of the things that the cats lived in their day to day lives and that is when the first domino in a long string of events began as it all started with another war between north and South.

Whitekit was still riding along in the bus as it pulled over to let two more cats on. These cats were a long lean black and brown tom as he had some pretty long legs for his size and a shorter brown brother as they soon sat down, the bus rolled again. Soon the bus became crowded as it continued picking up more kits as it was heading southward. Leafkit soon looked at an almost black kit with blue eyes as he seemed not in a good mood, Leafkit got up and walked over to him. As soon as she sat next to him, he lashed out.

"What are you doing sitting next to me?" The kit threatened to hit her as Leafkit looked at him as she didn't mean any harm.

"Come on relax please. Just breathe." Leafkit told the kit as he wasn't used to her presence. The kit soon began to relax as he began to calm down, it was clear he didn't like where he was going. "What is your name?" Leafkit just wanted to get the kit used to her as she wanted the kit to begin talking. Soon the kit turned to her as he began to speak.

"Crowkit." Crowkit introduced himself. Crowkit soon turned away as he slumped down. Leafkit looked at him.

"I'm Leafkit, you don't seem very happy, is there something wrong?" Leafkit introduced herself before she turned to Crowkit. Crowkit lifted his head as he spoke.

"Yeah. I just never had anyone good in life. I had no siblings. Deadfoot was killed in Korea. I felt like I was an outcast for most of my life and now my mother is forcing me to sign up into the very same position that got Deadfoot killed in the first place." Crowkit explained on why he felt this way. Leafkit turned to him as she wanted to help him out.

"We all have our ups and downs but you feel like you've kit the floor and kept going, might as well turn it around in the hope things do get better in the future." Crowkit turned to Leafkit as he was told this as they were getting closer to Parris Island.

"Yeah Thunderclan's eagles screeched and is calling us one and all, Few of us have family but I feel like we can try to meet up with our parents." Crowkit told Leafkit as he knew this could be miserable. "My mother didn't even kiss me goodbye and she soon left. Now hundreds of us are wondering where our parents are." Leafkit soon cuddled up to him as the notion was that war will never and now the young kits were being conscripted. However based on their age, they really weren't kits but they acted like kits and they needed to be turned into fighting machines. The bus soon pulled in as the cats soon began getting off. The kits were soon lined up as several toms began to guide them into the building. They were soon given their belongings and were told how to organize them properly. Soon they were all waiting on line to get tagged and their heads brushed up. Whitekit was excited, Crowkit was nervous and Leafkit and Squirrelkit had no feelings. Soon the two toms they were with on the bus had enter the room as Whitekit could barely contain herself.

"Isn't this exciting? We get to be with our parents in a matter of weeks and I can't wait to try out the goods that they have for us. I think I love lugging around Papa's 20 pound toy hey got from the days he was there from 42 to 45. It goes bang bang bang! I want one of those myself!" Whitekit squealed as she was referring to her parent's crazy adventures that they had before she was born. Squirrelkit turned to Whitekit.

"I don't think that was a toy that you were referring to Whitekit. You just must have had fun with what your dad brought over from war's end." Squirrelkit wanted to make it clear that weapons weren't toys but if it suited Whitekit well, then she would be getting one for basic combat.

"It's one of the many toys that dad had laying around and they are a lot of fun. I didn't know why he had a big one laying around when he brings his doggy friends over to destroy some bottles." Whitekit mewed as the line moved up. She was excited seeing she was next.

"You sure, I don't want to be playing with things that have the potential to cause harm." Crowkit responded as he seemed really nervous about this. Whitekit didn't care. She was soon taken in and Squirrelkit watched on. Crowkit soon went in as Leafkit was next. Several cats stood behind them as they were also kits of similar age being signed up for combat. Leafkit soon went in next as Squirrelkit watched thinking she was next. Soon she walked in as she was next. A cat took her in as they took her on a sea as they began brushing her fur out, cutting out the excess to fit the helmet as well as measuring her size and stature. Once done, they turned to her as they wanted to know her.

"Name?" One of the cats working there asked her wondering who she was.

"Squirrelkit." She responded. The cats nodded as they soon got her a collar with her name on it. The collars were multi colored as the darker colors represented male cats and the lighter ones represented female cats. Whitekit had a light green collar. Crowkit had a navy blue collar and Leafkit a yellow collar. Squirrelkit's collar was pink.

"You ready to meet the drill instructor and start training?" Whitekit asked them as they were all assigned to the same group together. None of them responded as they didn't want to meet the drill instructor. "That's a shame we should be excited since we might get placed in the same group as our parents." Whitekit still had a sense of excitement but the others were downright nervous about this.

"This could have been the worst thing we've got ourselves roped into." Leafkit was beginning to feel the regret about joining. She felt like she wanted to drop out from this but the stigma was that she needed to be with her sister. Leafkit gulped as they walked outside to their barracks. Whitekit dashed off as she wanted to scream with her excitement.

"Goodbye my sweetheart; and hello Vietnam!" Whitekit shouted with excitement. It was clear that the next 8 weeks would be their playground for war.

**[A/N]: A new story, mostly new character and a** **new conflict to look down on. This is just the beginning as I got a few questions:**

**What was the buzz word being thrown around at the time to describe on what the people didn't like at the time?**

**That's all I got so I recommend you read this slowly and I will be marshalling the new Warriors characters into Bootcamp. Also we still need to compete with the overused HSAU's as I am willing to compete until the very end.**

**Also this is a warning for all of you, this story will contain, suggestive themes, lots of cursing and violence, racism and possibly some hazing coming from the Drill instructor in the next chapter. You have been warned. See you in the next chapter for the time being. See you in Nam.**


	2. Meet your drill instructor

All the kits were standing in the same bunk as they were assigned 2 per bunk. Leafkit and Squirrelkit were together as Whitekit and Crowkit were next to them and to their right were the two kits that they met on the way to Parris Island, the long legged tom was Spiderkit and the shorter brother of his was Shrewkit. From their knowledge, they were the kits of Ferncloud born just months after the war was over. They looked older than the required age of conscription but they were willing to take in everyone that was capable of fighting. Squirrelkit nervously stood there as their drill instructor came in, he was a tiger-striped lean yet muscular tom as he was going to help the so called recruits for the next 8 weeks. He soon spoke.

"I am Gunnery Sergeant Ermey, your senior drill instructor. For now on you are to only speak when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be "Sir" do you maggots understand that?" Ermey introduced himself as their drill instructor as he laid out the directions on how he wanted to be greeted.

"Sir yes sir." The kits soon responded in unison but Ermey didn't hear them as it wasn't loud enough for him.

"Bullshit I can't hear you, sound off like you got a pair." Ermey wanted them to respond loud enough to hear their motivation.

"Sir yes Sir!" They shouted louder this time. Ermey liked the sound but he soon turned as he went to one of the random recruits. He continued to speak on what will happen on Parris Island and what they will come out of it.

"If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training. You will be a weapon, a minister of death, praying for war. But until that day, you are pukes! The lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even Warrior fucking cats! You are only unorganized, grab-asstic pieces of amphibian shit! Because I am hard, you won't like me. The more you hate me, the more you'll learn. I am hard, but I am fair! There is no racial bigotry here! I do not look down on Kittypets, kikes, wops or greasers. Here, you are all equally worthless! My orders are to weed out non-hackers who do not pack the gear to be in my beloved Corps! Do you maggots understand that?" Ermey explained on what will go down here and who he was even if he was going to be hard he was going to be fair for the kits.

"Sir yes sir." The kits said in unison they still couldn't get Ermey's full attention as he couldn't hear them.

"Bullshit I still can't hear you." Ermey told them as he wanted them to scream.

"Sir yes sir!" They shouted. Ermey nodded as he was able to heard them. He soon turned to a dark brown tom as he was wondering who he was. "What is your name Scumbag?" Ermey asked the kit wondering who he was.

"Sir Sparrowkit Sir!" Sparrowkit shouted. Ermey looked at him with disapproval as he decided to give him a new name.

"Bullshit! For now on your Private Snowball, do you like that name?" Ermey made it clear as he renamed poor Sparrowkit.

"Sir yes sir!" Sparrowkit shouted as the yelling was killing his voice. Ermey looked at him as he didn't look down to his kind.

"There's one thing you won't like Private Snowball, They don't serve fried chicken and watermelon on a daily basis in my mess hall!" Ermey shouted at Sparrowkit. Sparrowkit couldn't retaliate as all he could do was follow orders.

"Sir yes sir!" Sparrowkit. Squirrelkit and Leafkit were looking at each other as they were nervous about the type of show Ermey was putting on.

"Boy is that cat strict." Squirrelkit whispered to Leafkit. Leafkit soon turned to her sister.

"Shh." Leafkit tried to warn her but Ermey having the ears of an eagle heard the words as it made him more enraged.

"Who said that? Who the fuck said that? Who's the slimy communist twinkle toes cocksucker down here who just signed his own death warrant?" Ermey shouted as he was wondering who spoke out. No cat dared to open their mouths. Ermey looked around before speaking. "Nobody, huh? The fairy fucking godmother said it! Out-fucking-standing! I will P.T. you all until you die! I will P.T. you until your assholes suck buttermilk!" Ermey was ready to grab the first cat he could find. He soon grabbed Crowkit who was frozen with fear. "Was it you, you little fuck?" Ermey shouted at Crowkit.

"Sir no sir!" Crowkit shouted as he was still trembling with fear. Whitekit ignored the shouting staying in position.

"You look like a fucking worm! I bet it was you!" Ermey shouted as he thought it was Crowkit. Crowkit was trying to look away but he couldn't as he was still stuck with fear.

"Sir no sir!" Crowkit shouted. Squirrelkit knew she had to divert the drill instructor's mouth away from Crowkit so she decided to speak.

"Sir I said it sir." Squirrelkit spoke out as she wanted to get Ermey's attention. Ermey turned to Squirrelkit as he looked at her as his brown eyes were burning with rage.

"Well, no shit. What are you, a fucking comedian? Private Joker." Ermey began as he face Squirrelkit Squirrelkit's green eyes were sharking with fear as she wasn't used to the screaming. Ermey began to false smile a bit as he did admire Squirrelkit a bit. "I admire your honesty. Hell I like you. You can come over to my house and fuck my sister!" Ermey soon punched Squirrelkit in the stomach with his paw. Squirrelkit fell as she wasn't expecting a blow to be that strong. Squirrelkit drooled a bit of saliva as she looked up to Ermey as he continued to yell. "You little scumbag! I've got your name! I've got your ass! You will not laugh, you will not cry! You will learn by the number! Get up! Get on your paws!" Squirrelkit soon got up as she was still looking at Ermey as he continued to speak. "You best unfuck yourself or I'll unscrew your head and shit down your neck!" Ermey shouted as he wanted Squirrelkit to get with the program as she soon shouted.

"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit shouted. Ermey prepared to ask the kit on why she decided to join his group.

"Private Joker why did you join my beloved Corps?" Ermey asked her as she wanted to get this over so she needed to get him out of her face.

"Sir to kill sir." Squirrelkit blurted out. Ermey wasn't impressed with her statement as a result he decided to stay with her.

"So you're a killer huh?" Ermey asked her wondering if she was truly blood thirsty.

"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit shouted as she was trying to lie about it. She knew nothing about killing. Ermey stared her down as he was wondering how she would do it.

"Let me see your war face." Ermey decided to give her the demand. Squirrelkit began to get nervous again because she had no clue in Starclan what a war face was. Her expression was blank. She soon spoke.

"Sir…?" Squirrelkit soon went blank again as Ermey was still looking at her.

"You got a war face?" Ermey asked Squirrelkit as he was wondering if she had a war face. He soon decided to give a demonstration as he gave a short but hard scream. "That's a war face, let me see your war face." Ermey demanded. Squirrelkit screamed as she wanted to copy but what he did but hers was far from perfect. "Bullshit you didn't convince me, now let me see your real war face!" Ermey shouted as he wanted one better. Squirrelkit screamed again louder this time but it was still far from perfect. "You don't scare me, work on it." Ermey soon turned as he walked down a few columns to where a brown and white tom stood there.

"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit shouted as Ermey arrived to the tom as he began shouting at him too.

"What's your excuse?" Ermey asked the tom wondering why he was here but the tom was confused.

"Sir excuse for what sir?" The tom asked as he was puzzled by Ermey's demand. Ermey shouted at him.

"I'm asking the fucking questions, understand?" Ermey shouted at the tom. All the tom could do was follow orders.

"Sir yes sir!" He shouted. Ermey was a little more relaxed before he would speak again.

"Well thank you very much! Can I be in charge for a while?" Ermey asked the tom wondering if he could still have his position.

"Sir yes sir." The tom responded a bit of a much more nervous tone. Ermey felt that the tom was slowly crumbling a bit.

"Are you shook up? Are you nervous?" Ermey asked the tom if he was feeling under pressure from him.

"Sir I am sir." The tom responded as he was shaking from the fear Ermey was radiating on him.

"Do I make you nervous." The tom asked him wondering about making him nervous. The tom didn't know how to respond.

"Sir…" The tom's expression went blank as he didn't know what to say next either. Ermey was getting angry with the tom.

"Sir what are you about to call me an asshole?" Ermey shouted at him as he was wondering about what the tom was going to say next.

"Sir no sir." The tom responded as he didn't know what to say next. Ermey decided to ask him another question.

"How tall are you private?" Ermey asked the tom wondering how tall he was standing on his hind legs.

"Sir 5 foot 9 sir." The tom responded as he gave his height. Ermey wasn't impressed with it.

"5 foot 9, I didn't know they stacked shit that high! Are you trying to squeeze an inch in on me huh?" Ermey asked him wondering about the cat wondering if he was going to get taller.

"Sir no sir." The tom responded as he was still frightened by Ermey all around.

"Bullshit! I think the best part of you ran down the crack of your mama's ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress! I think you've been cheated! Where in hell are you from anyway private?" Ermey shouted at him as he wanted to know where he was after this. The brown and white kit spoke as he wanted to give his location.

"Sir Texas sir." The tom spoke. Ermey gave another explosion of a reaction as he soon shouted.

Holy dogshit! Texas! Only steers and queers come from Texas, Private Cowboy! You don't look like a steer, so that narrows it down!" Ermey shouted as he heard Texas as he asked the tom another question: "Do you suck dicks?"

"Sir no sir." The tom spoke as he was trying to defend himself from Ermey's words that were being spat to him like a machine gun under heavy fire.

"You a peter puffer?" Ermey asked the tom as he was beginning to get tired of him.

"Sir no sir." The tom responded but Ermey wasn't affected by this at all.

"I'll bet you're the kind of tom would fuck a she-cat in the ass and not have the goddamn common courtesy to give her a reach-around! I'll be watching you!" Ermey stormed off leaving Cowboy alone as he went to a fat gray tom that had fur coloring similar to Graystripe. Ermey soon spoke. "Your parents have any children that lived?" Ermey began speaking to the tom.

"Sir yes sir." The tom responded as he was unnaturally fat as he was just a kit after all.

"I bet they regret that! You're so ugly you could be a modern-art masterpiece! -What's your name, fatbody?" Ermey asked him wondering what the fat kit's name was.

"Sir Leonard Lawrence sir." Leonard responded as Ermey wasn't happy with that response as he wanted more questions.

"Lawrence, Lawrence what? Lawrence of Arabia?" Ermey asked him wondering if that was the case. Ermey looked at him as that wasn't the name.

"Sir no sir." Leonard responded as Ermey wanted to ask him more questions.

"That name sounds like royalty, are you royalty?" Ermey sarcastically asked him as he wanted to tell him on what his name really was. Lawrence needed to deny this again.

"Sir no sir." Leonard responded as he wanted to deny this again. Ermey seemed keen on pushing more questions onto him.

"Do you suck dicks?" Ermey asked him wondering about the same thing about Private Cowboy.

"Sir no sir." Leonard responded as he wanted to stay true. Ermey thought he was lying.

"Bullshit I bet you can suck a golf ball through a garden hose." Ermey hissed as he thought the tom was lying to him. Lawrence was ready to defend himself.

"Sir no sir." Leonard once again denied this as he wanted to say he never did such a thing. Ermey had to comment about his name.

"I don't like the name Lawrence, only faggots and sailors are called Lawrence. For now on you're Gomer Pyle!" Ermey commented on him giving him his new name. Pyle looked at Ermey as he couldn't keep a straight face.

"Sir yes sir." Pyle responded as he was beginning to grin. Ermey didn't like that one bit.

"Do you think I'm cute Private Pyle? Do you think I'm funny?" Ermey asked him as he was wondering if the kit found him cute. Pyle knew he needed to defend himself but he couldn't stop grinning.

"Sir no sir." Pyle responded but Ermey could see that he was still grinning.

"Then wipe that disgusting grin off of your face!" Ermey was at a boiling point with this apprentice as he wanted him to change his behavior.

"Sir yes sir." Pyle responded as he was trying his best to wipe the grin off of his face but it was clear that the grin was stuck there like two pieces of wood glued together with gorilla glue. Ermey was losing his patience.

"Well any fucking time sweetheart!" Ermey shouted to him. Pyle was still grinning and it looked like it wasn't going away.

"Sir I'm trying sir." Pyle responded as he couldn't keep a straight face. Ermey was losing his temper with the kit.

"Private Pyle, I'm going to give you three seconds. Exactly three fucking seconds to wipe off that stupid grin or I will gouge out your eyeballs and skull-fuck you!" Ermey threatened him as he wanted that grin gone as he was ready to count to three. "One… Two… Three." Pyle soon spoke.

"Sir I can't help it sir." Pyle responded. Ermey knew he had to whip the fat kit straight. He was ready to give him his orders.

"Bullshit! Get on your knees scumbag." Ermey ordered him. Pyle soon got on his knees as Ermey puts out his paw. As he wanted to give him the order. "Now choke yourself." Pyle soon took his own paws as he began to choke himself as Ermey knew that this wasn't the way to do it. "Goddamn it! With my paw num-nuts!" Pyle soon went as he grabbed Ermey's paw to choke himself on as Ermey reacted with another scream. "Don't pull my fucking paw over there I said choke yourself, now lean forward and choke yourself." Pyle soon obeyed as he leaned forward into Ermey's paw as he began to choke the kit hard to see if he was still grinning. "Are you still grinning?" Pyle was struggling to breathe as he had a firm grip over the kit's throat.

"Sir no sir." Pyle's voice was getting raspy from lack of air. His face began turning another color. Ermey still couldn't hear him.

"Bullshit! I can't hear you!" Ermey shouted as he wanted Pyle to scream like he has got a pair. Pyle spoke again.

"Sir no sir." Pyle shouted louder but his face was turning blue from the lack of oxygen. Ermey still wasn't impressed.

"Bullshit! I still can't hear you. Sound off like you got a pair!" Ermey shouted to Pyle. Pyle soon looked at him.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle shouted as Ermey soon released him from his grip satisfied or the fact Pyle was starting to turn blue. Pyle was panting for oxygen.

"That's enough, get on your paws." Pyle soon got up back to his paws as Ermey wanted to give some words to him. "Private Pyle, you best square your ass away and start shitting my Tiffany cuff links or I will definitely fuck you up." Ermey soon turned and left the scene as it was clear that their first real day of training would start tomorrow. No one knew what tomorrow would bring them.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle shouted as he was still unsure about this.

**[A/N]: How was that for introducing the drill instructor? You think he's too harsh or is this a fair representation on how he treats new recruits? Make sure you respond on what your opinion is.**

**You're probably wondering why I named the drill instructor Ermey? I named him after the real yet completely tough, indestructible spirit of R. Lee Ermey. If I joined the Marines, I wanted him to be my drill instructor mostly so he can destroy all the recruits. (If he was still alive of course.)**

**Also what should Leafkit, Spiderkit, Shrewkit, Whitekit and Crowkit's nicknames be if you got any leave your suggestions so I can use those as the new nick names and we really need the attention to compete once again against overused tropes and stories. I'll see you next chapter when the kits would begin training to become killers.**


	3. Training up the kits

It was the next morning when training had officially begun; Ermey was running beside the kits as he was instructing them on how to run. Private Snowball was the squad leader as Ermey was commanding them on how to run.

"…right, left, right, left! Left right, left, right, left! Left, right, left, right left!" Ermey commanded them on how to run as he was getting ready to see what they would be chanting. Squirrelkit was watching over this. This was Parris Island, South Carolina… Thunderclan home territory Marine Corp, an 8 week college for the phony tough and crazy brave. Squirrelkit was thinking to herself as Ermey began the chanting. "Mama and Papa were laying in bed."

"Mama and Papa were laying in bed." The kits chanted as they jogged along. Ermey soon continued the chanting.

"Mama rolled over, this is what she said…" Ermey wanted the kits to repeat after him as they continued to jog along.

"Mama rolled over, this is what she said…" The kits responded as the sun was warm on their uniforms as they continued running along.

"Ah gimme some…" Ermey continued chanting jogging along-side the kits.

"Ah gimme some…" The kits chanted and Ermey thought the pitch could be raised a bit.

"Ah gimme some…" He chanted again more clearly so the kits could respond louder.

"Ah gimme some…" The kits responded as Ermey liked the pitch. He soon continued the chant.

"P.T…" Ermey continued on wondering if the kits would respond.

"P.T…" The kits responded as Ermey thought the pitch could be raised again.

"P.T…" He spoke again waiting for the kit's response.

"P.T…" The kits responded as they were getting familiar with the rhythm.

"Good for you!" Ermey continued the chant wondering how the kits would respond.

"Good for you!" The kits chanted as they kept jogging along. Ermey soon spoke again.

"And good for me!" Ermey continued the chant. The kits were keen on responding to him now.

"And good for me!" The kits responded as Ermey smiled a bit to the kits.

"Mmm, good." He spoke. The kits soon turned and responded.

"Mmm, good." The kits chanted as they kept jogging. Ermey knew he wanted to make things more complicated for them.

"Up in the morning of the rising sun." Ermey continued as the scenery was changing as other kits were training for combat.

"Up in the morning of the rising sun." The kits chanted after his words. Ermey soon turned as he chanted another phrase for them to repeat.

"Gotta run all day until the running's done!" Ermey chanted as he wanted the kits to repeat after him.

"Gotta run all day until the running's done!" The kits chanted, Ermey was ready to step it up a bit as he wanted to slur some of the lines.

"Ho Chi Min is as a Son-of-a-bitch!" Ermey chanted as he wanted the kits to repeat after him. The kits soon spoke.

"Ho Chi Min is a Son-of-a-bitch!" The kits chanted as Ermey was still jogging along as they were almost done. Soon he gave them one last thing to chant with.

"Got the blueballs, crabs and the seven-year itch!" Ermey chanted as they were just almost there. The kits knew that this was the last chant so they wanted to put on a show.

"Got the blueballs, crabs and the seven-year itch." The kits chanted as they had just jogged around the perimeter of the complex. Ermey turned to them as he stopped to speak to them.

"Good job this morning, your pitch could be louder but there is always room for improvement. I'll see you after lunch." Ermey soon got up and left as the kits were soon heading into the mess hall to get something to eat after a long morning jog.

The mess hall was serving up fresh fish rolls as the cats weren't used to this, most of the fish that was used was shell fish such as shrimp, crabs and lobsters to name a few. This also came with a side of beans, some water and a treat to compliment that. Whitekit sat down with Spiderkit and Squirrelkit as they had got their lunch too.

"How was that morning's jog?" Whitekit asked them as she was still smiling. Spiderkit took a bite of his fish roll as he was hungry. Squirrelkit spoke as she was exhausted.

"Oof, I wasn't expecting to be up bright and early and we've been jogging all morning, I feel like we should rest up for the day before moving on to the next activity." Squirrelkit panted as she wasn't used to these exercises yet. Whitekit soon looked at her as she was eating her lunch.

"Well we better get used to it since we will be doing this often and obstacle course racing. I want to see that course that we just passed that morning." Whitekit responded a she was eating. She must have been hungry after that morning's jog.

"What getting up at 4 in the morning and jogging for the next 20 miles or so, I'll bet he'll be making us run within the next week or so." Spiderkit hissed as she took a bite of the fish roll. He had the longest legs of any of them but Squirrelkit was wondering why he would have them run. She knew she had to finish up lunch before the next phase of training would happen for the afternoon.

That time soon came as the cats were soon gathered around as Ermey marched right up to them; they were in their columns as Ermey soon spoke.

"I've decided that you will begin marching with your rifles. You standard 7.62X51 rifles that will be your service tool to get the job done. Of course if you do get really attached to these rifles, you can take this into combat." Ermey explained what they were. He soon wheeled over two racks of M14 service rifles. The cats soon went over as they all in an unorganized fashion, began to grab the rifles that would be the most service to them. Once the racks were empty, they were ready to begin. "Now marching with your rifles isn't going to be a simple task. When marching you will hear several commands. Meaning when you have the stock up on your arm, you grab the stock with your other paw before swinging it to your chest and putting it on the other arm. So when you hear right or left you follow up on these movements. Now let's see how well you preform to said commands. Any questions?" Whitekit soon raised her paw as Ermey turned to her as he wanted to answer to her.

"If we mess up, do we have to be corrected?" Whitekit asked as she seemed a bit nervous about this. Ermey was still remaining calm.

"Don't worry, if you mess up, I will be there to help your correct it unless you're a certain someone." Ermey responded as he prepared to march with them. "Now wait for me to give the signal to change and march." The cats listened as they began marching along waiting for the commands.

They were soon marching along on some asphalt as Ermey was calling out some of the commands and everyone was doing well so far. Squirrelkit was waiting for the command as they prepared to switch.

"Left, right, left right, left! To your left shoulder. Hut!" Ermey commanded as the cats took the rifles off from the right side and presented it before putting it to the left of them. Ermey continued marching with them. "Left, right, left, right left! Right shoulder. Hut!" The cats dismounted the rifles from their left before presenting and putting it to their right. Ermey continued to march with them. "Left, right! Platoon… Halt! Left shoulder. Hut!" The cats stopped as the followed along. Except for Private Pyle who mistakenly puts the rifle on the right shoulder instead of the left one. He decided to correct this but Ermey spotted him and it was too late for him. Ermey walked over to him. "Private Pyle, what are you trying to do to my beloved Corps?" Ermey hissed as he was wondering what mistake he had made. Pyle stood there with his mind blank.

"Sir, I don't know sir." Pyle responded. Ermey knew he had to be shitting himself with Pyle. He soon began to speak to the kit.

"You are dumb, Private Pyle, but do you expect me to believe that you don't know left from right?" Ermey asked him as he thought Pyle didn't know basic directions. Pyle tried to deny it.

"Sir no sir." Pyle responded as he held up his rifle. Ermey knew he had to once again test Pyle.

"Then you did that on purpose! You want to be different!" Ermey hissed at Pyle wondering if he was trying to be an individual.

"Sir no sir." Pyle tried to deny it but Ermey was ready to test him. Ermey soon slapped Pyle hard across the left cheek as he wanted him to see which direction that came in.

"What side was that, Private Pyle?!" Ermey asked him wondering what side he was slapped in.

"Sir left side sir." Pyle responded as he knew that direction had to come from the left side. Ermey was looking at him, wanting to confirm that he was correct.

"Are you sure Private Pyle?" Ermey asked him as he wanted to be correct before he would slap him again.

"Sir yes sir." Pyle responded. Ermey soon slapped Pyle again hard but this time across the right cheek, knocking his cap off.

"What side was that, Private Pyle?" Ermey asked him if he knew on what direction that it came in.

"Sir, right side, sir." Pyle responded as he needed to go pick up his cap again.

"Don't fuck with me again, Pyle! Pick up your fucking cover!" Ermey instructed him just ready to humiliate Pyle even more.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle responded as they got ready to continue their exercise.

It wasn't later as they were continuing the left right procedure on how to march in formation. Squirrelkit and Whitekit were helping Ermey lead as they were chosen. Bringing up the rear was Pyle, his fatigues were pulled down to his ankles; he was sucking his paw, his cap backwards and he was holding his rifle muzzle down, struggling to keep up.

Hours later, they were back in their barracks as they had their M14's with them. Ermey was inspecting them as they were getting ready for bed, they were getting up early tomorrow for another day's worth of training.

"Tonight, you pukes will be sleeping with your rifles! You will give your rifle either a girl's name or a boy's name! Because this is only pussy you cats are going to get! Your old days of finger banging Mary Jane Rottencrotch through her pretty pink panties are over! You're married to this piece, this weapon of iron and wood. And you will be faithful. Port… Hut!" Ermey told them what will be happening. He knew the recruits were a mix of toms and she-cats so he wanted to make sure that there were no barriers as the cats soon got their rifles ready. "Prepare to mount." He ordered. The cats were waiting on what to do as they were nervous about this. Soon he gave the order. "Mount!" On Ermey's words, the cats mounted to their bunks with their rifles and they lie on their backs at his attention. Ermey nodded as he wanted them to repeat the oath that every fighting cat needed to repeat. "Port… Hut!" The kits soon snap the rifles to the port side of their arms in a position where the rifles rested over their chests. "Pray!" The kits soon began to say the oath all in unison as Ermey listened in on it.

"This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it, as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him first before he shoots me. I will. Before Starclan, I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviours of my life. So be it… until there is no enemy… but peace. Amen." Ermey smiled as he turned as he walked out as he knew it was time for them to sleep seeing how they had another day ahead of them. He soon prepared to head for his bed to rest up for the night. He soon gave one last order for the night.

"Order… Hut!" The kits soon snap the rifles to their sides. Ermey smiled a bit before looking at the kits as he gave their orders. "At ease!" He soon went to the light switch as he turns it off as it was time for them to sleep. He soon turned to the kits as he wanted to wish them a good night for their slumber. "Goodnight ladies!" The kits all turned their heads to Ermey as they wanted to wish him a good night too.

"Good night, sir." They responded in unison exhausted from the day's training. It was clear there were going to be many more like this ahead of them before they could be deployed into the field. Ermey soon turned to a couple of guards that were watching the barracks over for the night as they had live rifles and flashlights made to protect the recruits in case the enemy came storming in.

"Hit it, sweetheart!" Ermey told the guards as the guards turned to him as they soon spoke.

"Sir, aye-aye sir!" The guards responded. Ermey soon walked off to bed for the night as he knew that he would bring the kits through their paces once more. Squirrelkit was looking across as she could sense that Pyle was not accustomed to something like this kind of drilling, she knew she needed to help him in what way but how would she do it? She needed to figure out how.

**[A/N]: Basic training for the kits and I will jump ahead as I don't want to spend a day a chapter on their training since it would get old really fast and we needed to get more views on this story seeing we only got three. I hope this chapter will bring in your interest to this. We're still competing and we're on the losing streak now. Let's hope that we can get more attention. And then we'll ship 'em all off to Nam. See you all next chapter for more recruit training. That is all.**


	4. Not all obstacles are easy hurdles

Days dragged along and slowly turned into weeks as we kept training along, getting accustomed to the rhythm, avoiding the nasty remarks of the drill instructor and keeping to ourselves. Of course he would complement us every once in a while but that was a rare exception. We just kept marching onwards.

**Day 10:**

The cats were still marching along as they were still getting used to marching with their rifles. Ermey was giving their ques on when to switch. They soon stopped as they prepared to switch.

"Right shoulder… Hut!" Ermey called as they switched. He soon inspected as he went to Private Cowboy who had the barrel of the rifle close to his face. He went to correct it. "This isn't your daddy's shotgun Cowboy!" He soon prepared another command for them to follow up with. "Left shoulder… Hut!" They responded as Leafkit made a mistake. Ermey turn to correct her. "Private Luna when I said Left shoulder, swing your rifle around your head not your head around your rifle." Leafkit nodded as she soon got ready for the next command. "Port… Hut!" They soon dismounted their rifles and had the weapons port across their chest. Ermey soon turned to Pyle. "Four inches from your chest Pyle! Four inches!" Ermey turned as he wanted to finish the training for today.

**Day 15:**

It was late at night as they were doing one last drill before bed time as they were slowly getting drained. 15 days down, 41 more to go. Ermey was matching up and down as the kits on their sides marched as they had their rifles in the port section. Ermey wanted them to chant with them.

"This is my rifle, this is my gun!" Ermey shouted as he marched along up and down the barracks. The kits turned as they responded back to him.

"This is for fighting and this is for fun!" The kits chanted as they marched along. Ermey turned he marched down the other way.

"This is my rifle, this is my gun!" The kits soon responded as they turned as they spoke.

"This is for fighting and this is for fun!" The kits spoke. It was clear they were marching along.

**Day 20:**

Ermey and the kits were marching along on the parade deck as they were they were still following his orders. They days were still dragging on. Pyle always bringing up the rear and Squirrelkit staying beside him for much of the way. Leafkit was looking for a her time to shine but that time would come soon enough. Crowkit was becoming a little harder as time went on spending what free time he had with Leafkit as the others marched along.

**Day 21:**

"You've made it this far so far but that was just only something a fresh kit getting off the bus would find difficult, you still have 5 weeks left of your training and these next 5 weeks will be a lot tougher as you will be heading on my obstacle course tomorrow. Don't think you have it easy there. Good night ladies!" Ermey soon left as the lights went out. Whitekit was excited to try out this course. Leafkit and Crowkit were skeptical. Squirrelkit was getting worried about all this as she was getting attached to a certain Pyle even if she didn't want to admit it. She looked at Pyle as she was starting to get worried for him about the obstacle course and how he would fair out on it. She soon pulled over the covers as she was probably overthinking about this but she knew Pyle was sinking faster than she was able to dig him out.

The next morning came as the obstacle course was underway. Many of the cats that were on their fourth week or more. Some of the cats were climbing up a rope as they wanted to reach the top. Whitekit was pulling herself up eagerly as she wanted to get to the top first. Squirrelkit was struggling up as her short frame wasn't meant for climbing up high, Pyle was strugging too but he was worse off than Squirrelkit. He was having a hard time pulling up.

Another obstacle was the arm stretcher as it was designed to be a quick obstacle. Ermey was there directing the kits on how it would be done. Whitekit was waiting in line with Crowkit and Shrewkit as well as Cowboy as Ermey instructed the cats on how fast it should take.

"Ten fucking seconds! It should take you no more than ten fucking seconds to negotiate this obstacle! Quickly, move it out! There ain't one swinging dick private in this platoon's gonna graduate until they can get this obstacle down to less than ten fucking seconds!" Ermey shouted at them. Whitekit soon grabbed the bars as she began swinging her arms along as fast as possible as she wanted to complete this obstacle in less than 10 seconds. Crowkit soon grabbed the bars next as he followed up with Whitekit and Shrewkit followed up after him.

Another, more challenging obstacle was the Tough one. How it worked was that the kits would first climb a rope as they would get to the top of the platform before climbing up a ladder before slipping yourself down a longer rope to complete the obstacle. Ermey was supervising the process as Squirrelkit and Leafkit were pulling themselves along as they wanted to complete the obstacle. Leafkit got up fist as Squirrelkit followed her up next. Ermey nodded as they began to climb up the ladder. Soon they grabbed the rope as they slid themselves down. Squirrelkit and Leafkit soon moved on as they wanted to go over the next obstacle.

Events would occur every hour known as the Pugil Stick event when two cats would be armed with pugil sticks and wearing some kind of armor so you don't get yourself beaten too badly. Pyle and Whitekit were against each other. Whitekit bashed Pyle with her stick as Pyle was too slow to react quickly enough as she swung around bashing Pyle in the head as she nimbly dodged his attempts to attack her but she continued swing the stick taking every opportunity to knock him off balance as Pyle can neither bash her back or block. Soon Whitekit bashed him down as she was able to finish him off. Pyle soon fell out of the ring as one of the supervisors looked at Whitekit who decided it would be nice to spit on him. One of the attendants supervising the event walked over as the others cheered her on.

"Whitekit, excellent job on taking out Pyle but can you got a bit easier on him? You went too hard on him." The attendant asked her as she had aggressively beat him to a pulp. Whitekit ignored him.

Another yet simple obstacle was the Dirty Name; it consisted of three logs upon which you needed to hop over three logs to clear the obstacle. Ermey was once again supervising it wondering who would be able to go next. Seeing the two of them ahead of them finish, he soon called up the next two.

"Next two privates! Quickly!" Spiderkit and another recruit named Rabbitkit were next as they soon bounded over as they wanted to climb up the obstacle. "Get over the goddamn obstacle." He soon saw that the two kits were just about finished as he was ready for the next two. "Next two privates! Quickly! Hurry up! Get up there!" Squirrelkit and Leafkit soon bounded over to the obstacle as they bounced up from one log to another with ease despite Squirrelkit's short size. Ermey wanted to make sure she had some spirit stored in her. "Private Joker, are you a killer?" Ermey asked Squirrelkit as he wanted to figure out if she had some spirit left.

"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit shouted as she got over the final log. Ermey wanted to make sure she still had the screech from when she first came here.

"Now let me see your war face." Ermey demanded Squirrelkit to display her warface. Squirrelkit screamed as it was getting there but still far from perfect. She soon ran off. Ermey nodded as he turned to Pyle and Whitekit who were waiting for their turn. "Next two privates go!" Ermey ordered as Pyle and Whitekit ran to the logs. Whitekit bounced up and over the logs with ease but Pyle was struggling hopelessly as he was messing up as he was sliding off the log. Ermey knew he just had to taunt him. "Quickly! Get your fat ass over there, Private Pyle! Oh, that's right, Private Pyle; don't make any fucking effort to get to the top of the fucking obstacle! If Starclan wanted you up there they would have miracled your ass up here by now, wouldn't they?" Ermey asked as Pyle was trying to get to the second log but he kept slipping as he ran over to start over.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle helplessly responded. Ermey watched Pyle as he continued to mess up as he wasn't able to get over the obstacle. He spoke again to him.

"Get your fat ass up there, Pyle!" Ermey shouted at him again as Pyle continued to mess up as he wasn't able to get onto the second log. Pyle was cursing under his breath but he still needed to be obedient on following orders.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle responded as he tried to get up the log again but he slipped and failed as he wasn't able to climb over the log.

"What the hell is the matter with you anyway? I'll bet you if there was some pussy up there on top of that obstacle you could get up there! Couldn't you?!" Ermey continued the taunting the poor kit. Pyle slipped from the log again as he was unable to climb up the log. He needed to start all over.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle was panting heavily since he found himself out of breath. He tried climbing the obstacle again but he slipped and fell as he needed to do it again.

"Your ass looks like a hundred and fifty pounds of chewed bubblegum. Pyle. Do you know that?" Ermey taunted him as Pyle still couldn't complete the obstacle. The line was steadily getting longer as they were waiting on Pyle. Private Cowboy watched Pyle's hopelessness as he was trying to complete the obstacle.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle shouted completely hopeless.

Another obstacle was the Chinning bar which you would pull yourself up until your head was past the bar. Ermey was watching an exhausted Whitekit who did many, many pull ups. Ermey was trying to encourage her on.

"One for the commandant." Ermey pushed White kit up as she completed another pull up before falling but her paws remained firm on the bar. "One for the Corps! Get up there! Pull!" Whitekit was struggling as she was attempting one last pull up. However due to exhaustion, she wasn't able to complete it as she fell off the bar panting. "I guess the Corps don't get theres."

"Sir not today but hopefully tomorrow sir." Whitekit told him as she ran off. Ermey nodded as he soon turned to Pyle who was next in.

"Get up there Pyle!" Ermey shouted. Pyle soon grabbed the bar and attempted to pull but he was struggling hard as his legs kicked furiously unable to pull himself up. "Pull! Pull Pyle Pull!" Ermey tried to encourage Pyle to at least try. But Pyle was still struggling to try. "One Pull up Pyle! Come on, Pull!" Soon Pyle released his paws from the bar as it was too much for him. Ermey soon became enraged with Pyle. "You gotta be shitting me, Pyle! Get your ass up there!" Pyle soon jumped as he gripped the bar again but he was struggling to pull himself up. "Do you mean to tell me that you cannot do one single pull up?" Pyle soon fell down from exhaustion as he was tired. "You are a worthless piece of shit, Pyle! Get out of my face!" Ermey shouted at Pyle to get out of his face. Pyle just ran off as he was helpless. Ermey soon turned to who was behind Pyle. "Get up there Snowball!"

Another obstacle was the confidence climb, it was a tall obstacle made for those to conquer their fear of heights. How it worked was that one the cat would climb to the top, climb over and then go back down. Pyle was on there as he was slowly making his way to the top. Squirrelkit and Leafkit were bounding ahead of him as Pyle struggled. Of course, Ermey had to be there to ruin it.

"Get up there fat boy! Quickly! Move it up! Move it up, Pyle! Move it up!" Ermey shouted as the others were way ahead of him. Ermey was at the top trying to encourage him. "You climb obstacles like old people fuck. Do you know that, Private Pyle? Get up here You're too slow! Move it, move it!" Ermey shouted as Pyle was nearing the top. Spiderkit and Shrewkit were climbing up faster than Pyle as they were miles behind Leafkit and Squirrelkit. Pyle began shaking as he was ready to fall down the obstacle. Ermey soon shouted at him again. "Pivate Pyle, whatever you do, don't fall down, that would break my fucking heart! Quickly! Pyle soon reached the top but he froze in his tracks due to fear. Ermey looked at him as he was losing his temper again. "Up and over! Up and over! Well, what in the fuck are you waiting for Private Pyle? Get up and over! Move it, move it, move it!" Ermey shouted as he wanted the kit to move it but Pyle was shaking as he was too scared to move. Ermey was beginning to lose his temper again. "Are you quitting on me? Well are you?" Pyle didn't responded as Ermey finally snapped. "Then quit you slimy fucking walrus-looking piece of shit! Get the fuck down off of my obstacle! Get the fuck down off of my obstacle! Now!" Pyle feeling defeated began climbing down as Rabbitkit and Plumkit came to climb. Ermey continued shouting at Pyle. "Move it! I'm gonna rip your balls off so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world! I will motivate you Private Pyle, if it short-dicks every cannibal on the Congo!" Pyle soon reached the bottom feeling defeated.

They were on the road as they were on a rapid forced march seeing how they were spread out to accomidate their own speeds. They were near the end of a 20 mile march as they were exhausted. Pyle was struggling to keep up, panting, and out of breath. He was supported by Squirrelkit as Ermey ran along-side him as he was taunting on Pyle who looked like he was going to pass out. Pyle's tongue was hanging out of his mouth as his head was lopsided, ready to drop.

"Pick'em up and set'em down, Pyle! Quickly! Move it up!" Ermey commanded him to go faster but Pyle was gasping for breath. "Were you born a fat slimy scumbag, you piece of shit, Private Pyle or did you have to work on it?" Ermey asked him as Pyle was too tired to respond correctly. Ermey continued to jog alongside him. "Move it up! Quickly! Hustle it up! The fucking war will be over by the time we get out there, won't it, Private Pyle?" Ermey shoved Pyle trying to get him to go faster. Pyle gasped for breath wanting to take a break. "Are you going to going to fucking die, Pyle? Are you going to die on me! Do it now! Move it up! Hustle it up! Quickly, quickly, quickly!" Ermey shouted Pyle as he wanted him to go faster. Pyle just couldn't respond. "Do you feel dizzy? Do you feel faint? Oh my Starkit, I think you have a hard-on!" They continued to jog.

Another simple obstacle was the mud-pit as the kits had to run through a puddle of mud to complete their training for today. Pyle was half supported by Squirrelkit and Cowboy as he soon fell taking Squirrelkit with him. Ermey was shouting as the other kits ran to help them up.

"Quickly ladies! Assholes and elbows! Move it out! Get up there! Move it! Move it, move it, Move it!" Ermey continued to shout for the kits to keep doing well. They raced along.

It was nighttime that they arrived back at the bunks. Leafkit soon took her boots off to inspect her paws as Ermey marched along as he was giving out the results for the day. They were taking their mud soaked boots off as they were going to wash up before bed. Ermey was looking at the results as he began to tally the results.

"Well ladies, you didn't do too badly today on the obstacle course. Some of you did great. Other's not so much. There is still room for improvement. Now the results: Private Pyle did the worst out of the bunch as I saw him not do one single pull up and mess up on a lot of the obstacles. Private Sky. I am impressed with your effort today as you were able to completely impress the other instructors, they are now jealous about us now. But go a bit easier, you nearly injured several privates today." Ermey soon looked at Leafkit who was examining all the paws of the apprentices. "Private Luna what are you doing?" Ermey asked Leafkit on what she was doing. Leafkit soon looked up to him as she spoke.

"Sir Private Pyle's paws on in bad shape, they are full of blisters, some of them had already popped from training today sir." Leafkit urgently turned as she spoke to Ermey. She began to make a list on what to get. "Sir do you have some cotton swabs, a needle, rubbing alcohol, Antiseptic, and antibacterial ointment sir?" Leafkit asked as Ermey tried to remember on what she wanted.

"I think it's all in the medical room, I can fetch someone to get them that." Ermey told her. Leaffkit nodded as she took off for the bathrooms to wash her paws. "Can one of the ladies fetch me some medical supplies since one of the ladies requested it." One of the cats took off as he went to go get the said supplies. Leafkit soon ran out as her paws were clean. She ran over to Pyle who was in pain as the blisters that popped were burning badly. Squirrelkit was sitting beside him to calm him down.

"It burns so badly!" Pyle whined in pain. Squirrelkit was trying to calm him down.

"It's okay, someone will get you some help so just hang in there for a little bit longer." Squirrelkit mewed trying to keep him calm. Soon the cat came back with the supplies as Ermey walked over to Leafkit.

"Now I'm going to supervise on how well you handle this procedure." Ermey told Leafkit. Leafkit turned her head as she began rubbing the antiseptic all over the blisters that hadn't been popped but it was clear she needed them to be drained so she knew that. She cleaned the needle with the rubbing alcohol as she turned to Ermey.

"Sir I need you to hold Private Pyle still so I don't mess this up sir." Leafkit instructed him. Ermey walked over as he held Private Pyle down so he wouldn't squirm to try to run away. Leafkit soon took the needle as she tried as gently as possible to pop the blisters without causing much pain. Pyle wailed as he felt the needle pop open the blisters as he continued to whine on how much it burned. She soon began popping them all down as she wanted to make sure they all completely drained before she would move on to the next step. Once the blisters had been completely drained, she soon puts the ointment on her paws as she began trying to keep it all over his paws to make sure they didn't become infected later on. Ermey looked on as she took the bandages as she wrapped Pyle's paws up. She soon looked at Pyle who was trying to hold his tears back. "It's okay, just don't think about it and it will hurt less. Go to the medical bay after each training day to get more ointment until the blisters heal." Leafkit instructed him. Squirrelkit soon released him as he was too stiff to move. Ermey looked at Leafkit.

"Outstanding work Private Luna, I never knew that you had a nurturing side to you and I will think about what you have done tonight to see where you fit on the combat scale, for now, rest up and prepare for the morning." Ermey soon got up as he walked off as all the privates mounted into their bunks. Ermey soon turned as he went to the light switch. "Goodnight ladies." They all turned their heads to Ermey as they wanted to be polite.

"Goodnight sir." They responded. The lights went out as they had the night to reflect on what they just did. Tomorrow will be the same but harder.

**[A/N]: Let's keep the reviews rolling since I want to put more in depth with some of the lesser used characters. Will still try to destroy the characters in more ways than one so be prepared for more, Be prepared for the next chapter. That is all for now.**


	5. Squirrelkit the new squad leader

Ermey was up early that morning as he and two junior officers come into the barracks where the kits were sleeping. The lights soon turned on as Ermey grabbed an empty metal garbage can as he began banging it around with his baton to wake the kits up.

"Reveille! Reveille! Reveille! Drop your cocks and grab your socks! Today is Sunday! Divine worship at zero-eight-hundred! Get your bunks made and get your uniforms on. Police call will commence in two minutes!" Ermey ordered as he woke the kits up to get themselves ready for the morning. The kits soon began scrambling around to make their beds and get their uniforms on when the police arrived. Ermey soon walked to his left as he stopped right in front of the bunks ready to bark orders. "Private Cowboy! Private Joker!" Ermey shouted wanting their full attention.

"Sir yes sir!" Cowboy soon ran to Ermey as he was ready for his commands. Squirrelkit had just finished as she raced to Ermey.

"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she was ready for the morning. Ermey nodded as he was ready to bark orders to the two kits.

"As soon as you finish your bunks, I want you two turds to clean the head." Ermey gave them an order. Squirrelkit and Cowboy knew what the head meant and they were somewhat disgusted on that they will be cleaning up the toilets. But it had to be done.

"Sir aye-aye sir!" The two of them shouted in unison. Ermey nodded as he soon continued to speak.

"I want the head so sanitary and squared away that the Virgin Dawnsparkle herself would be proud to go in there and take a dump!" Ermey had set the standard on how well clean the toilets should be and he knew he could trust the two of them on it.

"Sir yes sir!" They shouted again in unison. Ermey soon turned to Squirrelkit, ready to ask her a series of questions.

"Private Joker, do you believe in the Virgin Dawnsparkle?" Ermey asked her if she believed in the bug eyed she-cat.

"Sir no sir." Squirrelkit responded as she didn't know what the Virgin Dawnsparkle was that well. Ermey soon tossed the metal trash can away as it made a loud clang on the floor. He soon began looking at her with sheer disgust.

"Private joker, I don't believe I heard you correctly!" Ermey shouted at Squirrelkit as it was another one of his tests to see if she had the guts.

"Sir, I said "sir no sir" sir." Squirrelkit responded as she wanted to repeat on what she said. Ermey wasn't impressed with that.

"Why you little maggot! You want to make me vomit!" Ermey shouted at Squirrelkit. He soon slapped her across the cheek as hard as he could as Squirrelkit felt the brunt of it. Her face stung when he was done with her. "You goddamn communist heathen, you had best sound off that you love the Virgin Dawnsparkle or I'm gonna stomp your guts out! Now do you love the Virgin Dawnsparkle, don't you?!" Ermey shouted wanting to test on how far she would go.

"Sir negative sir!" Squirrelkit shouted as she wanted to defend her beliefs. Ermey soon wondered if she was out there to ruin his day.

"Private Joker, are you trying to offend me?!" Ermey shouted to Squirrelkit as he wondered if she was out there to offend him. Squirrelkit soon shouted her believes to Ermey.

"Sir negative sir! Sir, the private believes that any answer he or she gives will be wrong! And the Senior Drill Instructor will beat them harder if they reverse themselves sir!" Squirrelkit voiced her reasons as Ermey had noticed he had been out maneuvered. He was soon wondering who was their leader in all of this.

"Who's your squad leader, scumbag?" Ermey asked Squirrelkit on who her squad leader was. Squirrelkit took a moment to think about it as the name soon snapped into her mind.

"Sir the private's squad leader is Private Snowball, sir!" Squirrelkit was yowling at this point as Ermey wanted to draw their attention. He knew he had to fetch Private Snowball.

"Private Snowball?" Ermey asked wondering where he was. Sparrowkit came running as soon as he was finished with making his bunk as he was double timing to get there.

"Sir Private Snowball reporting as ordered, sir!" Sparrowkit spoke as he was waiting for an order to be said for him. Ermey had other ideas for him.

"Private Snowball, you're fired! Private Joker is promoted to squad leader!" Ermey told Sparrowkit. He knew he had lost his position but he could do nothing about it.

"Sir aye-aye sir!" Sparrowkit ran off as he wanted to finish getting his stuff together. Ermey knew he had to call in Pyle to give him new orders too.

"Private Pyle!" Ermey shouted wondering where the fat gray kit was. Pyle came running only dressed in his dog-tags and he had no cover on the legs or body.

"Private Pyle reporting as order, sir!" Pyle responded as Ermey looked at him as he had orders for him and these orders were permanent.

"Private Pyle, from now on Private Joker is your new squad leader, and you will bunk with her. She'll teach you everything. She'll teach you how to pee." Ermey soon told him that he will be bunking with Squirrelkit as she would be Pyle's new assistant. Pyle, Squirrelkit and Cowboy looked at Ermey with the instructions drilled into the heads.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle responded as Ermey continued to speak to him.

"Private Joker is silly and he's ignorant but she's got guts and gusts is enough. Now, you ladies carry on." Ermey knew they needed to get back to what they were doing as he needed to complete a few things himself.

"Sir aye-aye sir!" Squirrelkit, Cowboy and Pyle shouted in unison. They soon darted back wo what they were doing so they could complete on what their task was.

Later on that day, they were on the field with their M14 rifles. Ermey was explaining what today's training was but they weren't going to shoot them yet. Today they were going to be stripping them down.

"Now the important lesson of your rifle is being able to disassemble it and put it back together. If your rifle gets jammed or a part breaks and you need to replace it, a good fieldstrip is all what you need to get your rifle back in working order. First thing you want to do is take the magazine out and the second thing you do is keep the safety on so you can't shoot the rifle by mistake. We'll begin the disassembly." Ermey began to explain how disassembling the M14 worked. He soon began taking parts off of it as he was going through the process piece by piece. Squirrelkit was calmly and patiently explaining to Pyle how the rifle worked. She was holding the parts up as he was looking at them as she explained where needed to go where.

"…The bolt. The bolt goes in the receiver, Operating rod handle. Operating rod guide…" Squirrlekit explained to him as she was telling him how to do it. Pyle nodded as he puts it together as Squirrelkit smiled to Pyle. "Good job there." She patted him on the back. There was still more they had to do in order to make him a good marine.

That night, Squirrelkit was overseeing Pyle lace up his combat boots seeing the day they had more free time than any other day of the week. Squirrelkit was overlooking him as she was wondering about it. She still explained how it would be done.

"And the left one… over the right. Right one over the left. Left one over the right. Right one over the left and pull." Squirrelkit explained on how to properly lace the boots up. She saw him pull them into a good bow instead of a messy knot that he would normally do. Squirrelkit smiled to him. "See I told you with time and patience, you could do it correctly." Pyle looked up at her as his eyes were beginning to shine. It felt like he had a friend.

The next morning came as they were doing the confidence climb together as Squirrelkit got herself up and over. Pyle was still shaking with fear but he was climbing up faster than before. Squirrelkit was waiting for him at the top.

"Just throw your leg over." Squirrelkit began. Pyle soon threw one leg over the other as he was still shaking as he got the first leg over. Squirrelkit was ready to cheer him on. "That'a boy. That's it. Now just pull the next one over and you're home free. Ready just throw it over." Pyle gulped as he got the other leg over as he was still shaking with fear. He soon managed to get it over. "That'a boy. Just set it down. All right?" Squirrelkit watched as Pyle was still scared but he was able to get himself over it. Squirrelkit looked at Pyle as he was breathing heavily but managed to get himself over. "There you go. Congratulations, Leonard. You did it." Squirrelkit and Pyle soon scrambled down as they were going onto the next obstacle.

They were soon at the Dirty Name again as Squirrelkit and Pyle soon ran. Squirrelkit bounded to the 2nd log but Pyle was beginning to struggle. Squirrelkit ran over as she began to pull him. Pyle soon got to the top as Squirrelkit bounded to the last log with Pyle following her. She held a firm grip to make sure he didn't slip and fall. Pyle was at the top of the third log as he was triumphant. They soon ran off together.

Later, Squirrelkit was explaining Pyle how to make the bed the correct way. Pyle was listening in on this.

"You fold the blanket and the sheet together. Make a four inch fold? Okay? Got it? You do it." Squirrelkit explained to Pyle as she wanted to see what he was capable of. Pyle soon folded the bedsheet over as Squirrelkit observed him. She soon nodded as he did it correctly. She nodded to him. "You did it Leonard." She soon hugged him as she was overjoyed.

"At least you seem to be a friend to me. Now let's finish up with that manual of arms." Pyle responded as he got the book out to finish it.

The days went by and the condition of Pyle's mentality continued to improve. Pyle, Cowboy and Squirrelkit were on the obstacle course as they soon grabbed the rope as they all swung it over all making it to the other side. Pyle began to smile.

"It seems like you are getting the hang of thing's Pyle." Squirrelkit responded as she was surprised on how fast he was able to work on his act. Several newer recruits turned to them as they were getting jealous.

The days continued to go by one by one as they were on the parade deck marching around. Ermey made a command to put the rifles over the left shoulder. They all filed suit including Pyle who turned his head to Squirrelkit. Squirrelkit winked as she was telling him he was doing good.

They were soon on the shooting range as the pinging of rifles was heard in the background. Targets were being raised and lowered in exchange as the red spots on the black indicated hits. Whitekit was inspecting her M14 as she took the magazine out before looking down the sights as she was looking out.

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a marine and his or her rifle. It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong, you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. You will become dead marines. And then you will be in a world of shit. Because Marines are not allowed to die without permission! Do you maggots understand?" Ermey explained that both the rifle and the cat that handles it is the deadliest weapon on the earth. If they hesitate for just a moment, they will die. Whitekit soon reloaded the M14 as she placed the empty magazine back inside.

"Sir yes sir!" The kits shouted in unison as they had now understood on what was going on.

Later that day, they were on the street, they were now jogging faster as they were on double time as they were chatting in cadences.

"I love working for Uncle Sam!" Ermey began as he expected the kits to repeat after him.

"I love working for Uncle Sam." The kits chanted back. Ermey was impressed with it.

"Let's be known just who I am." Ermey chanted wanting the kits to repeat after him.

"Let's be known just who I am." The kits responded. Ermey grinned as he was impressive about the kits repeating after him.

"One, two, three, four, Thunderclan Marine Corps!" Ermey wanted the kits to chant after him. The kits soon gave their all.

"One, two, three, four, Thunderclan Marine Corps!" The kits chanted as they continued jogging.

"My Corps!" Ermey shouted as they kept jogging.

"My Corps!" The kits chanted. Ermey soon spat out more words to repeat.

"Your Corps!" Ermey expected the kits to respond and they responded almost immediately.

"Your Corps!" The kits chanted. Ermey nodded.

"Our Corps!" Ermey chanted along with them.

"Our Corps!" The kits chanted. Ermey soon got them ready to finish the phrase off.

"Marine Corps!" Ermey chanted. Soon the kits shouted as they wanted to finish.

"Marine corps!" The kits shouted. Ermey nodded as he continued to jog alongside them as he took a moment for them to chant

"I don't know what I've been told." Ermey started the next chant as he wanted everyone to follow suit with him.

"I don't know what I've been told." The kits responded as they continued running along.

"Eskimo pussy is mighty cold." Ermey shouted as he wanted the kits to chant after him. The kits soon came in loud.

"Eskimo pussy is mighty cold!" They chanted in cadence.

"Mmm, good!" Ermey began the quick command.

"Mmm, good!" The kits repeated after him.

"Feels good!" Ermey gave their second order.

"Feels good!" The kits repeated after him again.

"Is good!" Ermey chanted again.

"Is good!" The kits repeated after him.

"Real good!" Ermey gave them the next line to repeat.

"Real good!" The kits chanted back.

"Tastes good!" Ermey chanted for them.

"Tastes good!" The kits chanted to him.

"Mighty good!" Ermey continued to chant. The kits soon responded back to him.

"Mighty good!" The kits chanted as Ermey nodded.

"Good for you!" Ermey chanted for the kits. The kits turned to respond.

"Good for you!" The kits responded back as they were coming to the end of the chant.

"Good for me!" Ermey gave them the last chant.

"Good for me!" The kits chanted as they continued to double time it into the sunset. Things were going to get better.

**[A/N]: Another chapter another day and hello February. Will not update tomorrow with the Super bowl that day but giving you another chapter to read in the meantime so enjoy this chapter.**

**Also Squirrelkit becoming the new squad leader? Approve or disapprove and why. If disapprove, who should the new squad leader be and why? Now going to enjoy tomorrow and wait for the views.**


	6. All blame goes to Pyle

It was late one day as they were finished with the cats standing in two rows over their foot lockers. It was clear that they were more than halfway through their program as they still had 21 more days to go and this was a regular inspection to see on how they were doing. Ermey was slowly bobbing his head around looking at the kits as he wanted to see if they were taking care of themselves. Ermey soon turned to Whitekit as he saw the claws on her front paws were a bit longer than usual. He soon slapped her paw as he wanted her to take care of those.

"Trim 'em." Ermey mewed as he wanted the claws taken care of later. Ermey continued to walk along. He soon looked down to Crowkit who had some dirt under his back paws. Ermey pointed his paw to him. "Paw, jam!" He continued to walk along as he noticed a large lump on Shrewkit's paw. "Pop that blister and have Private Luna take care of it." He was approaching Pyle and Squirrelkit as Pyle was very nervous about it. He wanted to give Squirrelkit a present but they didn't have enough time in the mess hall to give it to her as he decided to stash the item away in his footlocker. Ermey soon looked down as he noticed that Pyle's foot locker. He soon picked up the lock to the foot-locker. "Oh my Starkit, Private Pyle, why is your foot locker unlocked?" Pyle looked at him as he wanted to defend himself and his friend.

"Sir I don't know sir." Pyle responded as Ermey held the lock in front of his face.

"Private Pyle, if there is one thing in the world that I hate, it is an unlocked footlocker! You know that don't you?" Ermey hissed as he told him what he hated the most.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle responded. He knew that he didn't want to involve Squirrelkit in any shape or form seeing how having her involved would be a detriment and the possibility that she would lose her position as Squad leader.

"If it wasn't for dickheads like you, there wouldn't be any thievery in this world, would there?" Ermey hissed as he wanted to make sure they were clear on this.

"Sir no sir!" Pyle still didn't have the confidence to stand up for himself as he was still wondering about what will happen but all he could do was protecting Squirrelkit.

"Get down!" Ermey shouted at Pyle as he wants to see the foot locker. Pyle helplessly got off the foot locker as he was wondering what will happen next. Ermey soon flipped open the foot locker as he was looking in as he took the first deck. "Well now let's just see if there's anything missing!" Ermey soon dumped it all on the floor as he wanted to see if there really was anything missing but his face scrunched up as he spotted something. Pyle knew he was truly busted as Ermey picked up the object. He attended to give it to Squirrelkit. "Holy Starkit! What is that? What the fuck is that? What is that Private Pyle?!" Ermey Screamed at Pyle as he was holding the object in front of his face.

"Sir jelly doughnut sir!" Pyle responded as he wanted to give that to Squirrelkit. Ermey was purely angry with Pyle.

"A jelly doughnut?" Ermey asked him as he was holding it like a dead rat that stunk and was half rotten.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle responded. Ermey soon wanted to press into him as he wanted to continue.

"How did it get here?" Ermey shouted at Pyle wondering where he got it from.

"Sir I took it from the mess hall sir!" Pyle responded as he took it there but he didn't have time to give it to his friend.

"Is chow allowed in the barracks Private Pyle?" Ermey asked him if something like this was allowed. To avoid getting pests, you were not allowed to bring any food into the barracks.

"Sir no sir." Pyle pleaded as he wanted to make sure he wasn't guilty and was completely innocent.

"Are you allowed to eat jelly doughnuts, Private Pyle?" Ermey hissed wondering if he was allowed to eat something like this.

"Sir no sir!" Pyle responded as he wanted to avoid trouble but trouble was already knocking on his door.

"And why not Private Pyle?" Ermey asked him on what the reason why he wasn't allowed.

"Sir because it will attract pests sir." Pyle responded as he knew Ermey didn't like pests but Ermey had other words for him.

"Because you are a disgusting fat body, Private Pyle!" Ermey shouted at him. Pyle gulped as he knew something like this was coming.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle called out getting nervous. He knew he was going to be beaten down to a pulp.

"Then why did you hide a jelly doughnut in your foot locker, Private Pyle?" Ermey asked him wondering what his reasoning was for hiding something like this in the foot locker.

"Sir because I wanted to give it as a gift to Private Joker but didn't time to give it to her and would give it to her after today sir." Pyle cowered in fear. Ermey soon turned around.

"Because you wanted to give it as a gift." Ermey was still holding the jelly doughnut as he was walking down the rows of foot lockers. "Private Pyle has dishonored himself and dishonored the platoon! I tried to help him, but I failed because you have not helped me. You cats have not given Private Pyle the proper motivation. So for now on, whenever Private Pyle fucks up, I will not punish him, I will punish all of you! And this counts for whoever fucks up, they will not be punished instead everyone else in the platoon will take the beating! And the way I see it, ladies, you owe me for one jelly doughnut! Now get on your faces!" Ermey soon laid out the new rules as he was going to be even stricter with the cats than before. Whitekit was shivering as they all got off of their foot lockers as they went on their faces, even Private Pyle was taking the brunt. Ermey walked to Pyle holding a bandana in the other paw as he skillfully tied it around Pyle's mouth like a gag. "I don't want to hear another word coming from you for the rest of the night." He soon walked over to Squirrelkit who was right next to him as he wanted to gag her too. "Open your mouth!" He hissed at the She-cat. Squirrelkit opened it as Ermey shoved the entire thing into her mouth. Jelly from the inside oozing all over the inside of her mouth. Squirrelkit closes her mouth as her cheeks were completely stuffed. Ermey soon spoke. "Pyle gave it to you, they're all paying for it, you eat it! Ready exercise!" Ermey soon gave the response as they were all beginning to do push-ups with neither Pyle and Squirrelkit speaking.

"One, two, three, four! I love the Marine Corps!" The kits chanted. It was clear they were going to do this all night if they had to. Squirrelkit swallowed it as it was the hardest thing she had to swallow. They knew they were in a heap of trouble.

The next morning, they were getting themselves ready as Squirrelkit and Pyle were getting dressed. Pyle looked at Squirrelkit as he felt down because of him trying to be nice. His eyes were sagging and ears drooped. Pyle looked miserable.

"You really look like shit today, Leonard." Squirrelkit tried help him as she was just about finished with her uniform.

"Joker? Everybody hates me now. Even you." Pyle mewed as he felt demoralized by the events of last night. Squirrelkit knew she didn't hate him even from the events of last night. It wasn't enough for her to turn on him.

"Nobody hates you, Leonard. You just keep making mistakes, getting everybody in trouble." Squirrelkit would admit it was his fault but even if he did mess up. She was there to help him. Pyle sniffed almost if he was going to cry.

"I can't do anything right. I need help." Leonard was ready to give up because of it. Squirrelkit sensed his pain as she puts her paw around him. She soon looked at him as she wanted to speak to him.

"I'm trying to help you, Leonard. I'm really trying." Squirrelkit responded. As Pyle looked up to her. He was beginning to trust her more as if he really had a friend. He soon got himself finished as Squirrelkit noticed he made a mistake. "Tuck you shirt in." Pyle did so as he was now finished. Whitekit was starting at the two of them with hatred in her eyes. It was clear that she couldn't trust neither of them. She needed to exact her revenge on them but how.

They were all soon out in the field as they were doing their routines. Ermey was supervising them to see how many they did. Pyle and Squirrelkit were at the front as Ermey was supervising the two of them heavily as he didn't know on how to keep their trust.

"One, two, three… nineteen!" They chanted. They continued to repeat the phrase as they continued to count, hitting 20. Squirrelkit and Pyle had their backs as they knew they were going to help each other whenever they had got into trouble. Squirrelkit began to think. Maybe he tried to save me before and he could do so again when we go into combat. They soon hit 25 as they continued to chant to themselves. Whitekit was looking at Squirrelkit wondering on how she would enact her revenge on them. She needed all of their help as she wanted to demoralize Pyle even more. She looked at Cowboy as she had a plan as the look was telling him to meet with her after training to see what their plan was. They soon had reached 30 as they continued on.

It was clear that after a long day of training, would come with a good night's rest however, there was going to be no rest for tonight. Ermey saw the last of the cats bunk as he was ready to run out and call it a day. He soon had to make an announcement.

"Tonight, you will be resting alone; I am heading out to speak with the individual drill instructors on where you all lie. In case something happens tonight, you will all be punished if you decide to do anything against the other privates or trash the place. I want you to be all asleep when I get back. Goodnight ladies." Ermey soon shuts off the lights as he soon went out to speak with the other drill instructors. Whitekit was waiting for Ermey to get far as if he couldn't hear his paw steps as he walked away. Whitekit soon went out as she and the others knew the plan. A blanket party.

Whitekit started with laying a small towel on the bed. She soon placed a bar of soap in the middle as she began to fold it up. Seeing how she liked it. She twisted it up. She decided to test it as she hits the mattress of the bunk with it. It slapped along with a dull thud as Whitekit was happy with the results. Squirrelkit was soon awake after hearing the thuds. She wondered if it was Pyle who did that so she looked up to him. Leaning over, she saw that Pyle was fast asleep. Spiderkit soon nudged her as he handed Squirrelkit one of the many things that Whitekit and the others had made. Squirrelkit didn't know what was going on but she was forced to play along with him.

Cowboy was awake as he knew now was now. He and four others soon slipped out of their bunks as they went over to Pyle's bunk. Two cats were holding a blanket as Cowboy help a dirty sock. They soon approached Pyle's bunk as Cowboy climbed up onto the railing. He got out the sock as he was ready to gag Pyle. They soon slipped a blanket over him as they all sat down on the bunk as Cowboy pinned the sock around Pyle's mouth. Pyle was completely helpless now. Soon all the cats came out of their bunks as they all raced over to the bunk Pyle was resting in carrying the towels filled with soap. Pyle's eyes shot open as all the cats came racing along slapping him with their soap filled towels as hard as possible across his body. Pyle screamed but he was silenced by the gag. Whitekit made sure to hit him more times as she raced around getting more shots on him than the others. Everyone was done but Squirrelkit. Cowboy looked at her as he wanted her to hit him a few times. Squirrelkit held back as she didn't want to beat up her friend.

"Do it." Cowboy taunted her. Squirrelkit held back as she didn't want to hurt her friend. "Do it!" Cowboy hissed. Squirrelkit soon decided to hit him as soft as she could. Pyle screamed as he was attacked. Squirrelkit soon hits him a few more times as she stopped as if she had enough. The others removed the blanket as Cowboy soon gave his final words to Pyle. "Remember it's just a bad dream fat boy." Cowboy removed the sock as they all darted back for their bunks. The others had got their revenge but Pyle was crying as he was in so much pain that he couldn't bare it. He felt like he had broken a bone of two with how fast they came. Squirrelkit soon covered her ears and pulled the blanket over her. She couldn't do anything for Pyle at the moment or risk getting into trouble. Pyle soon passed out as it was clear that he was going to wake up sore tomorrow morning. Whitekit snickered as she was completely satisfied with all of this as she knew that she wanted to do this every night when the drill instructor and the others were fast asleep. However this was the only night she was allowed to do it and she got what she wanted.

**[A/N]: Poor Pyle, he is now a victim of everyone. But do you want to see Pyle succeed in the end or go insane because of this. Leave your reviews as I want to hear your opinions.**

**Also we need more views for this month as I feel like the first two days kind of hindered it. I get it, it was a time to celebrate. Hopefully we can get more views in the future as I can safely say we could put ourselves ahead. See you next chapter and put some reviews in it. That is all.**


	7. Continue the training

Pyle woke up the next morning as Ermey came walking in banging the empty garbage can with his baton. He stumbled out as he stumbled out and flopped down. He still felt like he was in pain as he wasn't able to move that well. Squirrelkit pulled free from the covers as she noticed Pyle was in agony. She soon walked over to help him.

"Pyle, what happened to you?" Ermey asked him as he noticed that he wasn't well at all. Squirrelkit was there and she must have known what happened to him since she was forced to participate last night.

"Sir Whitekit made up all beat up Pyle last night for whenever he messed up as a sign of revenge, Sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she rose to the occasion. Ermey looked at her.

"Wait so Private Sky did this? I suspected that someone wouldn't be happy. I'll speak to her to find out what her motivation behind all of this was. You best get Private Pyle some medical help. Private Luna would be able to take a look at those wounds." Ermey knew he had a few choice words to speak to her about it as Squirrelkit got Pyle out as they went to go find Leafkit.

Leafkit and her new friend, Mothwing, were busy in the medical tents with the other medics in training as they were engaged with a morning conversation.

"… I personally do not know what is going on with some of these recruits; many of them seem pretty reckless. I feel like I have to mend a lot of broken bones while I'm at boot camp." Mothwing explained as she was getting the day ready for what recruit will stumble in beaten and injured. Leafkit looked at her.

"Me either. Look at me and the rest of us. All we do is take care of the pads of the recruits which so often get covered in blisters. I mean you don't see an apprentice with their legs getting blown off right?" Leafkit asked as she was cleaning some of the needles. Soon a knocking was heard as she was wondering who it was. "Come in." Squirrelkit and Pyle stumbled in as Pyle looked like he was in agony.

"What happened to him?" Mothwing asked as she prepared to lay Pyle down on the examination table.

"He was in pain for the entirety of last night and I told the drill instructor about it." Squirrelkit responded as she Mothwing began to examine Pyle, he was covered in black and blues from the beating he had taken the night before. Leafkit began to put ice all over him to bring down the swelling. Soon she decided to take a look at him as she was coming up with the proper diagnosis.

"Well it was clear he was badly beaten last night. We might have to take him out of training for the day if that's okay with you." Leafkit told him as she was beginning to take care of him. Squirrekit nodded as she got up and left. She knew there was nothing she could do for Pyle.

Days went by. Pyle thankfully recovered, Whitekit was given punishment that she was going to have to mop up the head every time she was called upon which she wasn't too pleased about. Ermey was soon marching along with the cats as he was going to give them their proper motivation.

"Port… hit!" He began. The cats reciprocated the event as they put their rifles with the barrel facing to the left and pointed up. "Left shoulder… hut!" The cats responded as they turned their rifles following the command. Ermey soon looked at it as he wanted to give out the last command. "Right shoulder… hut!" The cats responded as he went over to them. He soon wanted their attention directed on him. "Left face!" Ermey commanded. They soon looked at him. He was ready to drill more stuff into their heads. "Do we love our beloved Corps, ladies?" The kits soon responded as they wanted to shout.

"Semper fi, do or die! Gung ho, gung ho, gung ho!" The kits chanted out loud. Pyle stood there staring into space not responded at all. Ermey nodded as he soon asked the next question.

"What makes the grass grow?" Ermey asked them to see if they had the correct answer.

"Blood, blood, blood!" The kits chanted as Ermey was liking it. Pyle once again said nothing. Ermey just continued asking them.

"What do we do for a living, ladies?" Ermey asked them wondering what they loved to do. The kits soon responded.

"Kill, kill, kill!" The kits chanted. Pyle was once again not responding. Ermey was worried about their pitch as he felt they weren't loud enough to speak.

"I can't hear you!" Ermey shouted at the kits. The kits chanted the same three words again wondering if it was better.

"Kill, kill, kill!" The kits chanted as Ermey wasn't impressed by this at all either.

"Bullshit! I still can't hear you!" Ermey shouted at them to be louder. The kits soon began shouting.

"Kill, kill, kill!" The kits chanted as Pyle was still silent about it, not even saying a word. Ermey soon looked at them as he was getting bored but satisfied about their shouting.

"That's enough. I'll see you on the bleachers for more testing." Ermey soon walked off as he wanted them to put their rifles away and for them to meet him on the bleachers.

It was an hour later when all the cats were sitting on the bleachers as Ermey was still glorifying the TCMC and their history of good fighters. Ermey soon looked at the cats as he began to speak.

"Do any of you cats know who Charles Whitman was?" Ermey asked them wondering if they had any idea. No one responded. Ermey soon got looked up as he was shocked. "None of you dumbasses know." Ermey mewed displeased. Cowboy soon shot his paw up as Ermey might have the cat answer his question. "Private Cowboy?"

"Sir he was the tom who shot all of those cats in the tower in the University of Austin, Texas sir!" Cowboy responded as Ermey snapped as he had the right answer.

"That's affirmative. Charles Whitman killed 17 cats and wounded 31 others from a twenty-eight story observation tower at the University of Texas from a distance up to four hundred yards." Ermey responded. He soon looked around as he wanted to ask another question but something a little bit easier to make sure all the cats knew what the answer was. "Anybody know who Lee Harvey Oswald was?" Ermey asked them. All their paws shot up in the air as he looked around to pick whoever was the closest. He soon turned. "Private Snowball?" Ermey asked him.

"Sir, he shot John, president of Thunderclan at the time sir." Snowball responded. Ermey knew he was right on the money.

"That's right and do you know how far away he was?" Ermey asked him if he knew how far the shots were fired. Snowball turned to Ermey as he answered his question.

"Sir, it was pretty far! From that book suppository building sir!" Snowball replied. All the other kits laughed at the word suppository. Ermey knew he had to get their attention.

"All right, knock it off! Two hundred and fifty feet! He was two hundred and fifty feet away and shooting at a moving target. Oswald got three rounds with an old Italian bolt action rifle in only six seconds and scored two hits, including a head shot. Do any of you cats know where these individuals learned to shoot?" Ermey gave the exact answer and what weapon they used. He soon asked on where they learned to shoot. Squirrelkit raised her paw.

"Private Joker?" Ermey asked her if she knew the answer. Ermey had to call on her.

"Sir in the Marines, sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she knew the answer. Ermey looked at her impressed.

"In the Marines! Outstanding! Those individuals showed what one motivated marine and his rifle can do! And before you ladies leave my island. You will be able to do the same thing!" Ermey soon told them that with their rifles they will now be able to learn how to shoot them. Whitekit was overjoyed as Pyle continued to stare at Ermey without saying a word.

"Sir, when will we begin shooting them sir?" Whitekit asked Ermey when they will begin to shoot their rifles that were handed to them. Ermey turned to her.

"In a couple of days sweetheart, be patient." Ermey soon walked off as they all headed back to their bunks.

The next morning, the kits were waiting in their rows as they were standing. Ermey walked by as the he was leading the kits to sing.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Starkit, Happy Birthday to you!" Ermey and the kits sang. Ermey soon stopped as he turned to the kits.

"Today… is Christmas! There will be a magic show at zero-nine-thirty! Chaplain Charlie will teach you about how the free world will conquer Communism with the aid of Starkit and a few good marines! Starkit has a hard-on for marines because we kill everything we see! She plays her games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls. Starkit was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Starkit but your ass belongs to the Corps! Do you ladies understand?" Ermey was explaining on what will go on. The kits looked at him as they were ready to respond.

"Sir yes sir!" The kits responded. Ermey wasn't satisfied with the pitch as he wanted it louder.

"I can't hear you!" Ermey shouted to the kits. The kits shouted louder in unison.

"Sir yes sir!" The kits shouted. Ermey was satisfied as he walked off.

That night, the kits were given some free time as they were sitting on their foot lockers as they were chatting and messing around with their M14's since they will be shooting them in the morning. Ermey was walking around making sure no fights broke out between the kits. Pyle was talking softly to his rifle.

"It's been swabbed… and wiped. Everything is clean. Beautiful. So it slides perfectly. Nice. Everything cleaned. Oiled. So that your action is beautiful. Smooth, Charline." Pyle mewed quietly to his rifle. Squirrelkit as looking at him as she was beginning to feel uneasy. Was his rifle his girl or something. She decided to finish cleaning her rifle.

Squirrelkit, Pyle, Cowboy, Crowkit and Whitekit were given the assignment to mopping the floor in the latrine to make sure it was clean. They were excited for tomorrow morning as they would be testing the rifles out. Squirrelkit soon noticed Cowboy as she pulled him over as she wanted to talk to him; she looked around to make sure they were alone before she began to speak.

"What is it that you want to speak about Joker?" Cowboy asked Squirrelkit as he wanted to figure out what was going on. Squirrelkit soon began to speak to him.

"Leonard talks to his rifle." Squirrelkit mewed. Cowboy turned back as he kept mopping. Squirrelkit was waiting for a response from Cowboy when he turned and gave his word.

"Yeah!" He muttered as it was the strangest thing. Squirrekit continued to mop.

"I don't think Leonard can't hack it anymore. I think Leonard's a Section Eight." Squirrelkit responded as they continued to mop. There was no response only a brief moment of silence between the two kits. Cowboy broke the silence as he wanted to speak to her about it.

"It don't surprise me." Cowboy responded. They continued mopping as Squirrelkit was thinking about what she could say next. She began to think as she mopped as she knew that Pyle could be unfit for service but with where he was, he was nowhere near that side nor would he be discharged from service due to Thunderclan needing fighters. Squirrelkit soon spoke.

"I want to slip my tubesteak into your sister. What'll you'll take in trade." Squirrelkit joked with Cowboy despite being a she-cat herself. Cowboy ignored her as he had nothing to return. He kept mopping away as Squirrelkit continued to work.

"What have you got?" Cowboy finally responded. Whitekit was looking at them with distrust as she knew Pyle went from a former shell of being unable to do anything to being her biggest rival. She knew things between them and she was slowly expanding as she was going to snap.

Ermey walked in the next morning grabbing the trashcan and banging it with his baton to wake them all up. The kits were waiting at this point as they knew today was the day for the exciting part of being a marine.

"Reveille! Reveille! Reveille! Today is the day that you've all been waiting for. Grab your uniforms and your rifles. Today is the day that you will be heading down to the shooting range." Ermey announced that they were lucky that day. The cats looked at him as they were excited. Rushing to get ready, they knew on what to do. They soon marched into formation in record timing having their M14 rifles by their side. Ermey impressed by this now knew that their location was the shooting range.

They soon got to the shooting range as they were getting ready to fire their weapons as Ermey was handing out the M14 magazines to all of the cats. They all happily took them as they soon went to their designated spots.

"Now we get to the fun part of being a marine, learning to shoot your very own rifles. You got your targets at 100 yards away. They will eventually get 50 yards farther from the first target and you might need to change it up if you want to get to hitting the target precisely. "Now let's see how well you can hit those targets." Ermey told them. Crowkit went first as he raised his M14 rifle and bang! He nailed the 100 yard shot first as the other kits were firing away but they weren't hitting the target precisely. Whitekit was the next to fire and bang! She easily nailed the 100 yard target as it retracted to being a 150 yard target. Squirrelkit being short looked up as she fired the rifle. Bang! Hitting the target with ease, she waited for the next target to rise so she could fire the next shot. Pyle soon went down prone as he fired the first shot. Bang! He nailed the target with ease. As soon as the next target was raised, he fired hitting that target again. The targets continued to scale back. 200, yards 250 yards. Ermey knew he had to do something to test on how well he was able to fire it. He soon began raising metal targets and bells for him to fire as the 300 yard target came up. Pyle continued to fire at the targets. Bang! Bang! Bang! The targets were being pushed away as bells were ringing. Pyle soon kept focus as he fired at the 300 yard line. Squirrelkit, Crowkit and Whitekit were getting challenges as well as the targets were being raised. They were firing away to hit them but they weren't as fast as Pyle. Pyle soon finished the last target at the distance of 500 yards. He went to reload. Ermey looked at him as he was impressed. "Outstanding, Private Pyle! I think we've finally found something that suits you well!" Ermey called out to him. Pyle finished reloading the M14 as he cocked the bolt to the rifle.

"Sir yes sir!" Pyle called out. Squirrelkit was the next to finish as she reloaded her M14 as well. Ermey walked over to her.

"Nice shooting there Private Joker. You're up there with Pyle when it comes to shooting." Ermey complimented her. Whitekit soon finished shooting her group as Ermey walked to her.

"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit responded. Ermey looked at her as she was reloading her M14.

"You always impress me Private Sky; I think you might become a good tactical shooter one day." Ermey complimented her. He soon got up as he went to Crowkit who finished his grouping.

"Sir yes sir!" Whitekit responded. Ermey soon walked over Crowkit who was reloading his M14.

"Nice shooting there but don't let the rifle bounce up too much or you'll miss the follow up shot if you want to aim. Keep some force down on that rifle." Ermey told him. Private Cowboy finished his shots as he went to reload.

"Sir yes sir!" Crowkit responded. Ermey walked over to Private Cowboy. He was reloading his M14.

"You seem to be waiting for the follow up shots as the targets get ready, you seem a little cautious in your shooting. Other than that, you did fantastic." Ermey complimented Cowboy as the rest of the kits were still trying to hit their targets. Ermey knew he had a treat for the five of them in mind.

"Sir yes sir!" Cowboy responded. Ermey soon motioned for the five of them to come to him.

"Since you five got your shooting done the fastest, I want to see what other weapons you would want to try out to see what you're the most comfortable with. Then we can determine what role you would play as: Sniper, Support, CQB, or if you want to you can hang onto your M14 rifles when you go out." Ermey wanted to make their training special. Squirrelkit, Crowkit, Whitekit, Cowboy and Pyle were going to be put through more testing to see where they lie. They were excited for this.

**[A/N]: Sorry for being on a bit of a writer's block but I wanted to make this a bit longer than the others to make up for it.** **I still crave those reviews as they will mean a lot to me and I still want to see where you want Pyle to end up, completely insane or being able to recognize his own mistakes and try to be better. I want to hear your opinions on the matter as I will be posting out more chapters in the near future so let's try to get to 10 reviews by the time this week is over. So that is all for now, see you next chapter.**


	8. Graduation day

Ermey had taken the five of them to a much more secluded range as he wanted to test out what they could be good at. Laying around were some support machine guns, some sniper rifles and a couple if factory grade Uzi's to be used. Ermey soon marched along as he wanted to get them used to the weapons.

"Since you five did such a fantastic job on the range, let me see what you're capable of. Let's start with the sniper rifles so grab some Winchester M70's so we can begin your training. Your first target is about 1,000 yards away and will increase ever 100 yards to 1500 yards. I like to see how you will handle out there." Ermey soon gave them their rifles as they laid down to get more accurate with the far away targets. Crowkit was looking down the sights for the rifle at the first target as he fired. The shot piercing the center at the 1,000 yard mark. Squirrelkit fired next piercing the target. Whitekit did the same thing as she managed to hit the target. Pyle and Cowboy followed up as they were able to nail the targets. However the farther the targets got, the bigger the difference it became. Since bullets had a drop, their shots were getting lower and lower down. Pyle and Whitekit were able to nail them easily. Ermey looked at their shots. "Private Sky, Private Pyle, you seem to be excellent with the sniper. Cowboy, Crowkit and Squirrelkit, your shots got lower down the farther the target became. Maybe this next test would test to see if you are able to fight up close since I bet you want to get personal with your enemies, He soon took their Winchester rifles away as he replaced them with Uzi's which were automatic pistols but much bigger.

"Sir right sir." They responded as he handed them the Uzi's and the 32 round magazines that came with it. 9mm Parabellum rounds were chambered into the weapon. They loaded them up as the targets began to appear.

"Even though these weapons have a slow rate of fire at 600 rounds a minute doesn't mean you can spray this weapon all day long. It has very strong recoil. Burst firing is the best way to keep your fire steady so you can hit the targets." Ermey instructed them. Soon he looked at them as the targets were beginning to appear. "Begin!"

The five of them were beginning to pepper the targets to see if they could get any hits. Pyle and Whitekit were neck and neck at the targets as they were trying to put one or two holes into the target to be accurate. Squirrelkit was having trouble managing the Uzi's recoil. She was trying to keep it steady but she was having trouble since she was used to having some of the weight at the front. Crowkit and Cowboy were trying to be accurate as Crowkit was trying to use one paw to spray it down but the weapon required two to handle effectively. Ermey was watching their results as he waited for the magazines to be completely empty.

"Looks like we got ourselves a lot of lead down at the targets, Squirrelkit, looks like you're not cut out for the role of a SMG cat. And neither is Crowkit and Private Cowboy. Their shots aren't accurate as the weapon was bouncing all over the place. Pyle and Whitekit did okay but it's clear that these weapons aren't meant for any of you. We'll try the Support gunner test." Ermey demonstrated the results. It was clear that these cats weren't cut for handing a sub-machine gun like an Uzi. However there was still one more test to contend with. Ermey soon took the Uzi's away as he soon began bringing out the final guns one at a time. They were really big as they looked like they could be handled by any cat that had the strength to hold them. He soon brought out several 50 round belts to feed the behemoth weapons to provide fire. Whitekit picked up the weapon as if it was the toy that she mentioned using back home on day 1. Ermey soon gave them each a belt as he explained what the final test was. "This is the M60. Used to provide support and cover fire when fleeing or assaulting a position. Remember, don't continuous fire this weapon with all of that ammo; you will break the barrel if overused. Fire in short bursts or let the weapon breathe in between shots. Best way to fire these weapons is if you get down onto a surface to provide support. Now go." The targets popped up as the cats began to slowly pepper them with the bullets. They had laid down to nullify the recoil as well as letting the M60 get a better feed from it. Squirrelkit was uncomfortable with lugging an M60 around the battlefield as well as Crowkit. Cowboy Pyle and Whitekit were finding no trouble with the weapon as they continued to fire. Their targets were bottles of beer as the 50 rounds would be able to destroy 250 bottles.

"Sir this is a great way to cut down alcohol intake sir." Squirrelkit mewed as she continued to see how many bottles she could destroy with the M60. Ermey looked at her as she continued to eat away at the small belt.

"I never really like beer that much. I only prefer shots." Ermey responded. He soon waited for the ammo to be completely consumed as he decided to take the results. "Looks like you completely annihilated all of those bottles. I will check with the other recruits to see where you fit on the firing squad and what weapons you would be the most appropriate to using." Ermey walked out as they got up. Whitekit still having a grudge on Pyle as she looked at him.

It was later that day as the kits were back on the parade deck going over sections. Squirrelkit was waiting for hers as Ermey walked over to her. Squirrelkit gulped as she was waiting to be questioned about her section.

"What's your sixth general order?" Ermey asked her as he wanted to know what her orders were. Squirrelkit didn't know as she decided to take a guess on it.

"Sir, the private's sixth general order is to receive and obey and to pass on to the sentry who relieves me… All orders… Sir, the private's sixth… Sir the private has been instructed but he does not know sir!" Squirrelkit responded. It was clear she was stuttering, messing up before coming to the conclusion that she does not know. Ermey didn't want to treat her too hard seeing how far she had come to, but she was wrong.

"You slimy scumbag, get on your face and give me twenty-five!" Ermey gloated at her as she got the answer wrong. He decided to make her do 25 push-ups as a result.

"Sir, aye-aye sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she got down and began doing her push-ups. Ermey walked over to Private Pyle.

"How many counts in that movement you've just executed?" Ermey asked Pyle. Pyle snapped to him as he gave his answer.

"Sir, four counts, sir!" Pyle responded as he gave the correct number of counts that he had executed. Ermey wanted to know more from him.

"What's the idea of looking down in the chamber?" Ermey asked him if he knew what the phrase meant. Pyle soon spoke.

"Sir that's the guarantee that the private is not giving the inspecting officer a loaded weapon, sir!" Pyle responded as he spoke that the answer was right. Ermey nodded as he had a couple more questions for Pyle as he wanted to figure out what it was.

"What's your fifth general order?" Ermey asked him as he was wondering what that order was. Pyle soon responded on the dot.

"Sir, the private's fifth general order is to quit my post only when properly relieved, sir!" Pyle responded as he knew what that order meant. Ermey decided to give him the last question to Pyle.

"What's this weapon's name, Private Pyle?" Ermey asked him as he was holding up the M14 rifle. Pyle soon responded as he spoke.

"Sir, the private's weapons name is Charlene, sir." Pyle responded. Ermey smiled as it was clear it was the smile of an old battle harden tom who was laughing at a good joke. He was impressed with how far he had got.

"Private Pyle, you are definitely born again hard! Hell, I may even allow you to serve as a rifleman in my beloved Corps." Ermey responded. Pyle looked at him as he spoke.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Pyle responded as Squirrelkit finished as she shot up.

"I heard everything that went on and you've got this far I've seen I guess I did teach you everything." Squirrelkit responded. Pyle turned to her.

"Don't bring up teaching me how to pee." Pyle responded as he was ready to laugh at his own joke.

The next day rolled around as they were doing their final cadence as they were jogging along the road as their daily jogs were coming to an end. Ermey was leading the last one back to the barracks.

"I don't want no teenage queen." Ermey lead it as the kits were jogging along with their rifles.

"I don't want no teenage queen." The kits responded jogging along. Ermey nodded as he said the next phrase.

"I just want my M14." Ermey lead the next phrase. The kits nodded as they listened before responding.

"I just want my M14." The kits responded. Ermey soon spoke next as they were getting close.

"If I die in the combat zone." Ermey chanted. The kits were following up behind him.

"If I die in the combat zone." The kits responded as Ermey nodded as he continued to chant.

"Box me up and ship me home." Ermey continued the chant. The kits responded as they chanted along.

"Box me up and send me home." The kits responded as they were getting close.

"Pin my medals upon my chest." Ermey continued to chant. The kits listened as they soon repeated after him.

"Pin my medals upon my chest." The kits responded. Ermey was seeing they were getting near.

"Tell my mom I've done my best." Ermey gave the last chant out to them. The kits wanted to finish this up as they wanted to do this perfectly.

"Tell my mom I've done my best." The kits responded. Ermey soon stopped them right in front of their barracks.

"Wonderful job all of you. Keep this up as we only have four more days together before heading into the field." Ermey soon let them use some of their free time as they could catch a break but they would be up tomorrow morning to jog again.

That day came as they were soon all jogging together along the asphalt path as they were still loosely organized. Squirrelkit and Pyle were jogging ahead as Ermey was supervising. Whitekit knew she couldn't compete with them anymore seeing how far they had come.

"Graduation is only a few days away and the recruits of platoon 392 are salty. They are ready to eat their own guts and ask for seconds." Ermey began to the two of them. Pyle kept jogging along as Squirrelkit turned to him as she spoke.

"Sir, it is right that you've seen how much we changed since the day we arrived there on the first day. But they say the more we hate you the more that we will learn from you. You are hard to see us try our best but you are fair to correct us to see if we didn't know anything, sir." Squirrelkit spoke as soon some green smoke came up. The cats went faster pointing their bayonets to the smoke as they charged through. This was part of their training to make them more ferocious fighters.

"The other drill instructors are proud to see that you're growing beyond our control. The Marine Corps does not want robots. The Marine Corps wants killers. The Marine Corps wants to build indestructible warriors, cats without fear." Ermey responded as they continued jogging. Pyle looked up as he was going to speak. He soon forgot as he kept jogging.

The last few days soon dwindled down to nothing as the morning of the final day before being shipped out. Ermey formed a circle around the cats as he was going to speak to them.

"Today, you cats are no longer maggots. Today you are Marines. You're part of a brother or sister hood." Ermey told them. He soon lead them out to the parade deck to where they would graduate and move on to the next stage in their careers.

All the graduating Platoons were gathered together on the parade field as graduation day was here. Some of the cats there were waiting as they were getting ready for a good time. Leafkit and Mothwing were looking at Squirrelkit and Crowkit. Leafkit could still see the shine in Crowkit's eyes as he nodded with a smile. It was clear that he missed her a lot. A parade was being sounded as the cats were marching along. Ermey soon gave out a speech to the cats as he was getting them ready for combat.

"From now on, until the day you die, wherever you are, every marine is your brother or sister. Most of you will go to Vietnam. Some of you will not come back. But remember this: Marines die. That's what we're here for! But the Marine Corps Lives forever. And that means you will live forever!" Ermey gave his speech to make sure the cats had high morale. The cats cheered as Leafkit huddled Crowkit as it meant that they will be on the field together.

It was the last night as the kits were given their squad code as they were going to go to war. Ermey was giving them their numbers one by one.

"Pickett!" Ermey called over. Spiderkit came running over to him.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Spiderkit responded as he was going to get his number. Ermey soon gave him his number and where he was assigned.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey gave him his code. He was ready to call out the next cat. "Paw-jam." Crowkit came running over.

"Sir, yes sir!" Crowkit responded as he was wondering what he was assigned to. Ermey turned to him.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey responded as Crowkit knew what his code was. Ermey called out to the next cat. "Adams." Rabbitkit came running over.

"Sir yes sir!" Rabbikit responded. Ermey had seen the Skyclan kit do well as he had a special assignment for him.

"Eighteen-hundred, Engineers, you go out and find mines." Rabbitkit nodded as Ermey called out the next cat he wanted to see. "Cowboy!" Cowboy came running over as he heard his name.

"Sir yes sir!" Cowboy responded. Ermey looked at him for a moment before assigning him his number.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey responded as Cowboy nodded. "Joker!" Ermey called out. Squirrelkit looked up at him as he read out her rank.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she waited for her rank. Ermey began to read it.

"Forty-two-twelve, Basic Military Journalism." Ermey paused as he knew that rank didn't make any sense at all and he was ready to change her rank. "You gotta be shitting me, Joker! You think you're Mickey Spillane? Do you think you're some kind of fucking writer?" Ermey asked her as he was trying to be as calm as possible.

"Sir, I wrote for my high school newspaper, sir!" Squirrelkit spoke out as she told him she was a natural for creating news. Ermey knew that she wasn't cut out for being in the papers but as a marine marching along with her fellow friends.

"Oh my Starkit, you're not a writer, you're a killer!" Ermey told her as he wanted to see her get her paws dirty and not be some kind of timid photographer.

"Sir, a killer, yes, sir!" Squirrelkit responded as Ermey turned to her friend Pyle.

"Gomer Pyle!" Ermey called out to him. Pyle didn't respond as he was completely withdrawn as his eyes were half open. It felt like he was floating around in space. "Gomer Pyle!" Ermey called out to him a second time before lightly slapping him to get his attention. Pyle soon looked at him as Pyle looked up at him.

"Sir, yes, sir." Pyle responded as it was clear that there was a change to him. Ermey didn't know that his recruit was a section 8.

"You forgot your fucking name? "O-three-hundred, Infantry. You made it." Ermey asked him if he forgot who he was. Pyle soon looked at him as Ermey continued to assign ranks. "Perkins." Shrewkit came running to him.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Shrewkit responded as Ermey gave him his rank.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey responded giving him his rank. He soon chose another name. "Snowball."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Snowball came running as Ermey gave him his rank.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey assigned him. Snowball nodded as he was ready to assign the next cat. "Rottweiler." Creekkit came running over.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Creekkit responded. Ermey was ready to give him his assignment.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey nodded as he went to the next cat. "Branch."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Nettlekit responded as he went to speak to him. Ermey gave out his rank.

"Eighteen-hundred, Engineers. You will help Adams to find mines." Ermey told him as he wanted to pull another cat out to give them their ranks. "Butterfly."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Plumkit responded as she was looking at him. Ermey soon gave Plumkit her rank.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey assigned to her as Plumkit nodded. He was just about done. "Sky!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Whitekit responded as she wanted to know what her rank was. Ermey soon assigned Whitekit her rank.

"O-three-hundred, Infantry." Ermey assigned her as he had one cat left on the list. "Luna!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Leafkit responded as she was getting her rank and position. Ermey soon assigned her rank to her.

"Twenty-four-hundred, Medical. Your job is to save and treat injured and sick marines." Ermey assigned. Leafkit nodded. Squirrelkit looked at Pyle as he looked completely withdrawn from himself. It was clear she needed to speak to Ermey about this as she was worried that Pyle had snapped completely. She needed to find out what was up.

**[A/N]: Graduation day for the kits as they are now marines. Also FreeEcho, Crowpool is still the main ship but I definitely wanted to put Leafkit, Mothwing and Crowkit together when they get to Vietnam. So they will get some scenes together. However this is only part 1 of the story.**

**Also do you want to see Pyle completely snap or consolidate his feelings to Squirrelkit before they move out to Vietnam? Leave your review to see where you want to go. Will write down both possibilities to you. See you next chapter. That is all.**


	9. Pyle completely snaps

Ermey was in his office as he was having a toast with his juniors as they were going to celebrate on getting a group of cats out to Vietnam. He heard a knock as they were preparing some shots. He turned his head to the door as he was wondering who it was.

"Come in." Ermey told whoever was at the door. He rarely had a recruit knock at the door as he was wondering who came to him. The door opened slowly as Squirrelkit came in as she was worried. Ermey wanted to make her feel welcome. "Ahh Joker, it's you. Make yourself comfortable. What is it that you want to talk to me about?" Squirrelkit gulped as she soon responded as her voice was filled with anxiety. She wanted to speak about one of the recruits.

"It's about Gomer Pyle. He doesn't seem to be like himself. He isn't responding to his own name. His mind is completely in space, I feel like he's snapped." Squirrelkit laid out the situation. Ermey just looked at her as if she was saying that one of his recruits had gone insane.

"Nonsense, Joker. He's a good recruit. He'll get over it when we get into the field. Just give him a few days." Ermey told her that there was nothing to worry about at all but Squirrelkit wasn't entirely certain.

"What if it's permanent? Will we get the Pyle that we came to love?" Squirrelkit asked him as she was wondering if he was completely broken. Ermey just looked at her if she was completely insane and there should be nothing to worry about.

"Nah, he'll return to himself. Take up watch tonight if anything strange does happen." Ermey told her as he handed her a flashlight. "Then report back to me when you go out into the field tomorrow. I will surely miss you all." Sure enough, his words were true. Tonight was going to be the last night of the two cats in the barracks as their lives will come crashing down.

Squirrelkit took up watch as she patrolled the bunks of sleeping kits that were in their bunks later that night as everyone was heading to sleep. Graduation night was the last night they would be spending their lives here before heading out into the field. Whitekit was fast asleep and so was Crowkit. Leafkit and Mothwing weren't too far away in case something did happen and a cat got themselves injured. Click. A noise was heard as Squirrelkit turned on a dime wondering who it was. She raced to her bunk to see if her friend was there. She soon climbed up as she notice Pyle was completely absent from the bunk. Click. The same noise was heard. Squirrelkit turned as she began to walk to where the noise of the clicking was coming from. She continued to work her way to see where the noise of the clicking was coming from. She soon approached at the end of the barracks as she noticed the door to the drill instructors room and the head just opposite of her. Click. Another sound was heard as Squirrelkit soon turned to the door to the head as she just had a baton on her. Click. Squirrelkit soon determined the sound to be coming from the head. She opened the door to the bathrooms; Squirrelkit slowly creeped inside to see what was going on. She turned to see what was going on. There was Pyle, sitting on the toilet. Holding some bullets and a magazine in his paws, his M14 rifle right next to him. Click. Pyle inserted another round into the magazine as Squirrelkit decided to keep her distance. Pyle soon turned his head to her as his smile was completely grotesques. It was clear that Pyle, has indeed, snapped. Click. He inserted another bullet into the magazine.

"Hi Joker." Pyle greeted her in a very creepy manner. Squirrelkit was getting scared because of it. Click. Pyle inserted another round into the magazine. Squirrelkit looked at him as he had some of the bullets in his paws as they were completely real. No foam, no rubber, just one sharp metal nose.

"Are those… live rounds?" Squirrelkit asked as she was completely shaking. Stuttering as she spoke. Pyle inserted another round into the magazine as he quickly inserted another one in. Pyle turned to her as he inserted another round in.

"Seven point six two X Fifty one millimeter. Full Metal Jacket!" Pyle responded inserting another round into the magazine. Squirrelkit was getting worried. A part of her mind wanted her to run but she knew she had to stand her ground. Pyle soon inserted another round into the magazine. She knew her only option was to try to talk him out of it.

"Leonard… if Ermey comes in here and catches us, we'll both be in a world of shit." Squirrelkit tried to warn him as Pyle inserted the rounds in more frequently. It was clear he only a couple rounds away to being completely loaded. Pyle loaded another round into the magazine, turning his head as he only said a few words to her.

"I am… in a world… of shit!" Pyle responded loading the last round into the magazine. Pyle soon puts the magazine to the ground as he grabbed his M14. He soon snapped to his paws holding the rifle to port arms and he soon started executing the Manual of arms. "LEFT SHOULDER… HUT!" Pyle shouted as he twirled the rifle around before resting it on his left shoulder. "RIGHT SHOULDER… HUT!" Pyle soon twirled the rifle before resting it on his right shoulder. "LOCK AND LOAD!" Pyle soon grabbed the magazine from the floor before turning his rifle upside down. He soon inserted the magazine into the M14 as it snapped with the clicking of metal. He soon cocked the bolt as the rifle was primed and ready. He soon finished it up with one last order. "ORDER… HUT!" Pyle soon placed the rifle next to him as he held the barrel with his paw. Pyle continued to shout as he was ready to execute the oath he was given when he slept with his rifle for the first time. "THIS IS MY RIFLE! THERE ARE MANY LIKE IT, BUT THIS ONE IS MINE!" The shouting had woken up everyone else as they were wondering who was speaking. They soon made their way to the head as they thought it was the source of the shouting. "MY RIFLE IS MY BEST FRIEND! IT IS MY LIFE!" Ermey soon slammed the door opened as he heard the shouting. He soon noticed the other recruits were awake as he wanted them to get some rest.

"Get back in your bunks!" Ermey shouted at them as Pyle continued to shout.

"I MUST MASTER IT AS I MUST MASTER MY LIFE! WITHOUT ME…" Pyle was cut short as Ermey stormed into the latrine as he wanted to shout at Pyle wondering what was going on.

"What is this Basset Hound shit? What in the name of Starkit are you animals doing in my head?!" Ermey shouted wondering what was going on. He soon turned to Squirrelkit as he was wondering why she wasn't doing anything. "Why is Private Pyle out of his bunk after lights out?! Why is Private Pyle holding that weapon?! Why aren't you stomping Private Pyle's guts out?!" Ermey was wondering why Squirrelkit wasn't doing anything to try to stop him.

"Sir, it is the private's duty to inform the Senior Drill Instructor that Private Pyle has a full magazine and has locked and loaded, sir!" Squirrelkit told him as there was nothing she could do to try to help Pyle out of the madness he had dug himself into. Ermey turned his eyes to Pyle who he began to try to stare down at. Pyle just smiles from the depths of his own hell that he created. Ermey began to focus all of his considerable powers of intimidation, into his best John-Wayne-on-Suribachi voice.

"Now you listen to me, Private Pyle, and, you listen good. I want that weapon, and I want it now! You will place that rifle on the deck at your paws and step back away from it." Ermey warned him as he wondered if intimidation would do the trick since he still had control over him until the morning as they would be all heading out together. Pyle soon displayed a twisted smile as his teeth were hanging out of his mouth. He soon picked up the rifle as he slowly pointed it at Ermey. Squirrelkit was right. Pyle had indeed lost his mind. All she could do was watch him as Ermey soon shouted at Pyle seeing how intimidation didn't work on him at all. Ermey was on the edge of losing it as his manners began to run away to hide on who they called their home. "What is your major malfunction numbnuts?! Didn't Mommy and Daddy show you enough attention when you were a child?!" Ermey shouted at Pyle as he was wondering why he wasn't normal. But it was already too late. Bang! Pyle fired as a bullet tore right through Ermey's chest through the Drill Instructors heart. Blood squirts from Ermey's chest as he fell back. Ermey soon collapsed on the floor completely lifeless. Pyle had killed him. Pyle soon pointed the rifle at Squirrelkit who was shaking as she knew she could be next. She tried to reason with him.

"Easy, Leonard. Go easy." Squirrelkit tried to reason with him seeing how she was still his friend. Pyle was still breathing heavily as he realized his mistake. He had killed his drill instructor as he began to shake. His smile was gone as it was replaced with guilt and sorrow. He had never intended to kill his friends or the one who helped him. He slowly pointed the rifle away from Squirrelkit as he was slipping away from being a good warrior as Ermey but now he realized he was a complete monster. He soon slipped back to the toilet as Squirrelkit looked at him as tears began to fill her eyes. Pyle had realized he had really killed someone as he couldn't bear to see it. He soon puts the rifle between his paws as Squirrelkit was too scared to intervene on her behalf. He soon opened his mouth putting the barrel of the rifle into it. Squirrelkit realized that it was all going to be over for him. Squirrelkit still scared shitless, tried to warn Pyle not to do it. "NO!" Squirrelkit shouted. Pyle soon pulled the trigger, sending a round through his mouth and into his head. The white tiled wall that made the latrine soon splattered red with blood as Pyle had turned the rifle on himself. Squirrelkit had soon came to the scariest realization yet. Pyle had killed himself. The door opened as Leafkit and Mothwing came in with some of the other recruits. Whitekit soon sent to Ermy as Mothwing went to check on his condition. Leafkit went to Pyle to see if he was okay. Squirrelkit soon went to Leafkit as who was checking over Pyle's lifeless corpse. "Is Leonard going to be okay?" Squirrelkit asked Leafkit as she soon turned her head to Squirrelkit.

"I'm so sorry sister, but Private Pyle's gone. He's going to Starclan. We were too late." Leafkit spoke to Squirrelkit. Squirrelkit's eyes water up even more as she began to cry. Pyle was her best friend so far and she was devastated that he was now gone from her life. She soon hugged his limp body as she began to cry in to it as she couldn't bear it. Mothwing and the other medics soon arrived as they began to carry their bodies off to notify their families about their deaths. Squirrelkit was escorted by Crowkit and Leafkit for consolidation to try to make her feel better.

"He's gone!" Squirrelkit shrieked. She was now drowning in her own tears as she knew it was a major loss for her. The field of war was going to have many deaths as Squirrelkit was going to learn about. Pyle's death was her baptism of fire of what was going to come.

**End of Part 1**

**[A/N]: This is only part 1 of this story as part 1 was mainly focusing on Boot camp and learning on how to become a skilled marine. But did Pyle become a good Marine or did he become a killer? If he had lived, would he be fit and ready to fight? Part 2 and I believe Part 3 (If there will be a part 3) would be focused on Vietnam where the other character will have more time to shine in the spotlight.**

**Also who is more at fault for the destruction of the characters in this chapter? Ermey or Pyle himself? I would like to hear both sides of the coin. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer. However try your best to read the first 9 chapters of this story to come to a conclusion.**

**Also what would you like to see when they get to Vietnam when Part 2 rolls around? I would like to hear your suggestions on this as I will try to incorporate as many ideas as possible.**

**Also we need to get more reviews if we are going to incorporate more ideas into this. So I urge you to get to the bottom of this chapter in particular to list what you see above. I want to make this as good as possible but also avoiding some of the standard tropes that these stories come along with.**

**Also if Pyle had lived and didn't snap, here's how the situation would play out. Squirrelkit or Ermey would try their best to talk him out of this as he would come to this realization.**

**Pyle soon looked at the two of them, and then he looked down at his rifle. Maybe his words were true to only a certain degree. He soon yanked the magazine out of the rifle tossing it to the side as he cocked the rifle to get the round out. Maybe he could find his way out of the hell he created himself. He soon placed the rifle down to the ground looking at the two of them.**

"**Maybe you're right about this. Maybe at the end of the day, I am just as scared as you are but that doesn't matter! I still want to fight and be by the side of the fellow marines! I don't want to be sent back home as I will do my best! I got friends and my Charlene by my side! If I do die at the end of the day, I will always have my friends to remember to!" Pyle swore to himself that he was going to try until he would die. Maybe now wasn't a good time to snap as he wanted to keep himself together. Ermey looked at Squirrelkit than to Pyle as he wanted to say a few things. He was impressed that he held himself together as Squirrelkit approached him.**

"**I've never seen a marine go to hell and come back out in one piece. I am impressed Pyle. You went all of that way to prove yourself good. If you do come back in one piece; I might consider making you one of the DI's. You seem to be good for the job. I am proud of you." Ermey soon walked away as Pyle had went from being the worst of the bunch to being the best Squirrelkit smiled as she hugged Pyle seeing how he managed to live through his darkest times as they had a new objective for their service. Keep moving forward.**

**Also in the novel "The Short-Timers" Written by Gustav Hasford, when Pyle shoots the Drill Instructor named Gerheim. He tells him "I'm proud [of you]" before dying. There is other things I want to tell you about the novel but since I sadly don't own a copy of it. I won't tell you in full detail and will rely on outside sources instead. So I hope you enjoyed part 1 of this story and will see you in part 2 when they get to Vietnam.**


	10. Welcome to Vietnam

The death of Pyle struck Squirrelkit hard but all we could do was keep moving forward. Squirrelkit got over the death, in time for us to become apprentices. And we're deployed into the field. City life here would be mostly the same as it was back home. Firestar and Sandstorm's words would be made true.

**Six Months later:**

Squirrelpaw, Leafpaw, Crowpaw and Mothwing were walking along the streets of Hue city as they were given the free time of patrolling the city. Squirrelpaw, Leafpaw and Crowpaw were given M16A1's like Mothwing as they were looking around the crowded city, cats and their kits were in cars or on bikes as they drove around.

"Man Hue city is busy like they said it was." Leafpaw mewed as she was getting hungry. She hadn't eaten a thing since this morning. "You know, I can go for some grub." Mothwing looked at her as she was feeling the sting.

"Second that Leafpaw." Mothwing told them. Squirrelpaw looked around seeing a local café they could sit down at.

"That looks good. Let's see what they have." Squirrelpaw suggested. They all soon went over as they prepared to order. She noticed the bell as she soon rang it. A huge Burmese python opened the door as its amber eyes stared at them curiously. It soon looked at them with a smile.

"Hey there I've seen you've came here for some food I see. What can I get for you?" The python smiled as it soon grabbed a pen with its tail. Squirrelpaw was reading the menu as she was wondering on what she should get. She soon made the decision.

"Four orders of catfish and rice if you please." Squirrelpaw made her decision. The snake was writing down the orders as it soon spoke.

"How would you like your rice? Spicy with vegetables all mixed up in it?" The snake asked. Squirrelpaw looked at the snake.

"Sure. Make sure you don't skip out on it though." She smiled. "How much will it cost us?" She asked the snake. The snake, ever so nice and gentle with the cats. Looked at them as he was preparing to cook for them.

"If you were a natural citizen that would cost you something but seeing how you are some soldiers from another country, it would cost you to take a few photos of the place and what will you want to drink with that?" The snake laid out the cost which was to them nothing more than a few pictures. Leafpaw got out Squirrelpaw's camera, ready to snap some pictures.

"Water should be fine." Squirrelpaw responded. The snake responded as he went to begin preparing them some food. Leafpaw soon began snapping photos of the place as she knew that when they had the pictures, they could look at them.

"So snake, is there a reason why we aren't paying any money for the food?" Leafpaw asked as the python was filleting some fresh catfish to be cooked. The snake looked at her as it continued to prepare their meals.

"It's our national motto. Soldiers get to eat mostly for free since they are mostly hungry. We open our doors to anyone to eat but this war has divided us and for the most part we're afraid of losing the business. Open for four generations after all. This war has divided us so I have a stationery M60 on standby to defend myself. A fellow warrior gave it to me after an attack that occurred here a few months ago and I was grateful for him ever since. My prices are crazy." The snake spoke to Leafpaw. Soon a crashing sound was heard as he turned his head in annoyance. "Spider monkey! Get that rice over to boiling!" The snake shouted. Soon a Spider monkey appeared as he looked like he was exhausted.

"Ehh sorry about that. I was looking for the best pot to boil the rice when I dropped the pot on my foot, again." The spider monkey responded as he filled the pot up with some water to cook the rice in it. The snake turned to Leafpaw.

"That's my assistance Spider Monkey. Us snakes don't have any limbs so we mainly cook with the help of assistants with limbs." The snake spoke to Leafpaw handing her the water.

"It's all right. Just call me when food is ready." Leafpaw mewed. The snake nodded as she went to sit down with her friends as they began to speak.

"You know. Nam isn't as bad as the drill instructors make it out to be." Mothwing began. Crowpaw was looking at her as he was relaxing as Leafpaw handed them the water.

"Yeah I'm not a big fan as much as you are jungle girl. The heat and the bugs are killing me." Crowpaw responded as he slapped the back on his neck killing a mosquito that had just landed. Leafpaw looked at them as she took a sip of water as she was waiting on the food.

"You're not wrong. mosquitoes in particular are quite nasty little buggers and put more cats out of action because of disease rather than bullets." Leafpaw responded. Crowpaw was looking at her as he spoke.

"Well at least we can make the most of it. Anyways thanks for cuddling up with me last night even if it was too hot to." Crowpaw sighed thanking Leafpaw for sleeping with him. Mothwing wasn't too surprised with them.

"I could go for some bang bang with any cat I come across. Mainly Leafpaw herself." Mothwing wasn't going to lie about it. Squirrelpaw became worried as she turned to Mothwing as she didn't like where the medicine cat was talking this.

"Keep this up Mothwing and we might have to call Mudfur to find out you have an STD from all of those cats you go bang bang with." Squirrelpaw joked with her as they all laughed.

"Next thing you know that all the girls are being in the midst of all the gooks that have been attacking us whenever we tried to sneak around them and they built all the tunnels." Crowpaw spoke as they laughed as the doors soon opened.

"Oh food's ready." Leafpaw mewed as she soon grabbed it bringing it over. "We can sit around and keep talking until it cools down since I don't want to run the risk of hot mouth."

"I love the little gooks that they keep sending us. They are like toys that never get old." Crowpaw soon began to taste the rice as it seemed good. He continued to eat it up. The others began to eat up as they. It took them a while to finish as they had completely enjoyed their food. Soon a black and white tom with amber eyes soon appeared from the gloom wearing a similar uniform. Squirrelpaw recognized him as Leafpaw was giving the dirty dishes back to the snake.

"Private Joker is that you?" The cat asked her if he was wondering who it was. Squirrelpaw turned to her as she spoke.

"Rafter-man my tom. How you holding out?" Squirrelpaw responded. Rafter-man looked at her as he soon spoke as he wanted to see Squirrelpaw.

"Holding out good. You'll never know where the gooks are hiding. So what brings you to this side of Da Nang?" Rafter-man asked Squirrelpaw on what brought her here. Squirrelpaw looked at him.

"This side? Probably some food. Food here is good not gonna lie about it but those gooks are hiding all over the place. Some of the locals are very nice like that snake that made us some meals for free in exchange for the snapping of a few photos." Squirrelpaw responded as Rafter-man laughed.

"Dunno what makes you come to this side but it's clear that you're holding out just fine." Rafter-man responded. Squirrelpaw remembered something as she soon spoke.

"Oh yeah. Rafter-man, this is my sister Leafpaw and our friends Crowpaw and Mothwing." Squirrelpaw introduced them to Rafter-man laughed as he shook their paws.

"Nice to meet all of you." Rafter-man greeted them as Crowpaw wasn't too eager to meet anyone new but he was willing to give them a paw shake.

"Nice to meet you too." Crowpaw responded. Rafter-man pulled a chair from another one of the tables as he sat down near them. Mothwing turned her head watching the motorcycles and cars go by as the radio tuned in to These Boots Are Made For Walkin' by Nancy Sinantra.

"Ohh that song is my favorite." Mothwing admitted. The cars and Motorcycles continued to drive by as a brown she-cat walked long, swaying herself in an exaggerated way as the music played. She looked pretty for a cat but this was one of the many she-cats that were roaming the area that got the term "Undesirable."

"Hey baby, got girlfriend in Vietnam?" The brown cat asked as she was wondering if they had love. Squirrelpaw looked at the cat as Mothwing's mouth was beginning to water.

"Not just this minute." Squirrelpaw joked as she wanted to tease the Undesirable she-cat.

"Well baby, me so thirsty. Me so thirsty. Me love you long time. You party?" She asked as she was bouncing around on her legs. Mothwing was ready to give into her desires but the rest weren't so sure about this.

"Yeah, we might party. How much?" Squirrelpaw asked wondering what the price of this was. The she-cat soon responded.

"Fifteen dolla." She responded. Squirrelpaw was wondering if that was for all of them. It was a steal.

"Fifteen dollars for all of us?" Squirrelpaw asked her if that was going to be for all of them. She knew she was on her back paws thinking she might be luring them into a trap.

"No. Each you fifteen dollar. Me love you long time. Me so thirsty." The she-cat responded. Squirrelpaw wasn't so sure about this but Mothwing had her eyes darting for the she-cat's rump.

"Fifteen dollars too boo-coo." Five dollars each." Squirrelpaw soon slashed the price down as she was still not trusting her.

"Me suckee-suckee. Me love you too much." The she-cat mewed as the others were starting to get uncomfortable being around her.

"Five dollars is all my mom allows me to spend." Squirrelpaw responded as didn't want to spend the money. Mothwing's eyes were beginning to water.

"Okay! Ten dolla each." The she-cat soon raised the price as Squirrelpaw got up.

"What do we get for ten dollars?" Squirrelpaw asked her on what they got with the money.

"Everything you want." The she-cat responded as she was willing to give them everything they need.

"Everything?" Squirrelpaw asked her as the others weren't too sure.

"Everything." The she-cat responded. Squirrelpaw turned to all of them as she was ready to ask them.

"Well old buddies, feel like spending some of your hard-earned money?" Squirrelpaw asked them. Mothwing soon got out the money walking up to the she-cat.

"Take me everything you grant me for." Mothwing purred to her. The others held back as they weren't too sure about this. Rafter-man soon spoke.

"Hey some of us aren't too comfortable with this, how about we spend ten dollars all of us to snap you a few photos." Rafter-man mewed as he got out his Nikon camera.

"Deal." The She-cat responded. They knew they struck a deal knowing they were able to do something with the cat but it would be appropriate for all of them.

"Just a minute." Rafter-man responded as he got out his camera and began to snap some photos with the She-cat and Mothwing together. The she-cat even lifted up her cover for a photo. Squirrelpaw soon spoke.

"You know, half of these gook whores are serving as officers in the Vietcong." Squirrelpaw responded. Leafpaw and Crowpaw smiled as Rafter-man continued snapping photos of Mothwing and the she-cat. "And the other half have got T.B. Make sure you only fuck the ones that cough." A young Vietnamese tom cat walked up behind Rafter-man while was snapping the photos as he snatches the Nikon camera from his paws as he ran off. Rafter-man was surprised that a thief would take something as prized as his camera. He soon ran to his accomplice sitting on a waiting motorbike, tossing the camera too him. He soon turned around in mockery as he executed a few karate moves. Squirrelpaw screamed trying to intimidate him but he just hops onto the bike before zooming off with the camera. Squirrelpaw watched as they drove away to never be seen. Squirrelpaw just laughed.

"At least they didn't take Leafpool's camera that's for sure." She laughed. The she-cat soon spoke.

"If I had money, I would replace camera for you." She mewed. Squirrelpaw turned to her.

"Oh would you look at that. It's time for us to get back to base. It was nice knowing ya." Squirrelpaw and the others got up as they handed her the money walking off. They knew their time here was done as they needed to get back to base.

"Bye bye!" She mewed before walking off.

A helicopter flew by as the main gates to the base was a high security electrical fence that stored Tanks, jeeps, trucks. Anything you could name. The gates opened as the five of them entered. Some of them were reading as other's were playing basketball in one of the spare fields to keep their minds occupied from the war. Squirrelpaw spoke.

"That little sucker really had some moves on him, didn't he?" Squirrelpaw asked them as they walked along. Rafter-man soon turned to Squirrelpaw.

"Yeah… You know what really pisses me off about these cats in Vietnam?" Rafter-man told her before asking here what really grinds his gears. Squirrelpaw turned to him.

"What?" Squirrelpaw asked him wondering what it was. Rafter-man spoke.

"We're supposed to be helping them and they shit all over us every chance they get… I just can't feature that." Rafter-man spoke out to them. It was clear that he couldn't stand the fact that if they helped them, they do nothing in return to help them back.

"Don't take it too hard, Rafter-man. It's just business." Squirrelpaw responded as she continued to talk along with him.

"I hate Da Nang, Joker. I want to go out into the field. I've been in this country for almost three months and all I do is take handshake shots at awards ceremonies." Rafter-man responded as he didn't like being out here as he wanted some excitement in life. Squirrelpaw felt like she couldn't help but agree.

"You get wasted your first day in the field and it'd be my fault." Squirrelpaw responded as she told him the blame would be on her for not trying to protect him. Rafter-man turned his head to her as he soon spoke.

"A high school She-cat could do my job. I want to get out into the shit. I want to get some trigger time." Rafterman explained that he wanted to do some shooting and let someone else do the paper work for him. Squirrelpaw was concerned with him.

"If you get killed, your mom would find me after I rotate back to the world and she'll beat the shit out of me. That's a negative Rafter-man." Squirrelpaw expressed her concern for the cat. Rafter-man didn't care that much. Soon a sweaty tabby tom came along as he was holding one of the gooks rifles. Mothwing soon wanted to introduce him to the crowd.

"This is my brother Hawkfrost, one of the finest sharpshooters on the field." Mothwing introduced him to the rest of the crowd. The cats cheered as he shook their paws. Squirrelpaw was worried about the weapon he was carrying.

"Why does he have a Gook gun?" Squirrelpaw asked her as Mothwing soon spoke.

"He thinks the M16 or the Mattel gun as he refers it to is trash so he picked up and Ak and has been using it ever since." Mothwing responded. Squirrelpaw nodded.

"So is there anything you would want to do after today? Read a few things, chat? Catch up on assignments?" Squirrelpaw asked Mothwing. Mothwing nodded no as she just wanted to relax.

"Just relax. I mean we haven't seen much action since we got here so we got it easy." Mothwing responded. Hawkfrost soon walked to Squirrelpaw.

"Just you wait there girl. Soon the helicopters will come flying over the rice farmers playing Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fortunate Son. I swear to Starclan that is my favorite song when we got here. The skies are singing it nonstop." Hawkfrost walked off as he went to find something to do. Squirrelpaw walked off as she was looking for something to do.

**[A/N]: How is that a start to Part 2 of this story? Takes place 6 months after part 1 and will use more of the lesser known characters that didn't see too much in part 1 in this part since they are out in the field. Like always give your opinion on the story and comment on where you want it to go next.**


	11. Paper and Bullets

Squirrelpaw, Rafter-man and six others soon arrived at the leader's office as Tawnypelt was looking over the mess. The table the mess was situated was piled high with cameras, photographs, newspapers and magazines. Tawnypelt was helping Blackstar clean the mess up when Blackstar turned to those that entered his office. Tawnypelt was busy writing in the report of the newspapers for distribution of the weekly news.

"Okay warriors; let's keep it short and sweet today. Any cat got anything new?" Blackstar asked them as he continued to clean the mess up. Squirrelpaw turned to Blackstar.

"There's a rumor going around that the Tet ceasefire is gonna be cancelled." Squirrelpaw reported as she was listening to what the others were spreading around. Of course she didn't think it was true. But this caused Blackstar to drop some of the magazines out of his paws.

"Rear-echelon paranoia." Blackstar hissed as he knew why the ceasefire cancellation was called. Blackstar soon went over as went to continue cleaning up the mess.

"A cat in the Intelligence says Charlie might try to pull off something big during the Tet holiday." Squirrelpaw reported as she knew she could smell something fishy. Blackstar turned to her.

"They say the same thing every year." Blackstar puts it bluntly. He continued to clean up the mess as he wanted to get the place cleaned for when they do more papers. Squirrelpaw wanted to continue speaking to him about it.

"There's a lot to talk about it, sir." Squirrelpaw tried to speak to him saying it was a big deal that their big break wasn't going to come at all. Blackstar wasn't too worried about it.

"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. The Tet holiday's like the Fourth of July, Christmas and New Year rolled into one. Every Zipperhead in Nam, North and South will be banging gongs, barking at the moon and visiting his or her dead relatives." Blackstar responded as he knew there was nothing to worry about. Squirrelpaw soon got up and left leaving Rafter-man and the other privates to get the information as Blackstar continued to speak. "All right… Ann-Margret and entourage are due next week. I want someone to be there on the airfield and stick with her for a couple of days. Uh, Rafter-man, you can take it?" Rafter-man looked at Blackstar pointing his M16A1 into the air.

"Aye-aye sir." Rafter-man responded. Blackstar nodded as he wanted him to get some good details with it.

"Get me some good low-angle stuff. Don't make it too obvious, but I want to see fur and early morning dew." Blackstar told him on how he should carry out his actions. Rafter-man nodded as he knew what he needed to sir.

"Yes, sir." Rafter-man responded as he got up and left leaving Blackstar alone to begin reading.

"Diplomats in Dungarees—Marine engineers lend a helping hand rebuilding Dong Phuc villages…" Blackstar read as he turned to one of the editors are he wanted to make it clear.

"Talonpaw. If we move the Vietnamese, they are evacuees. If they come to us to be evacuated, they are refugees." Blackstar mewed as he wanted to make sure they had the basis of that. Talonpaw nodded as he took the paper.

"I'll make a note of it, sir." Talonpaw ran along as he wanted to make the note about that in particular. Blackstar went back to reading as he wanted to make reports of it and edits.

"N.V.A Soldier Deserts After Reading Pamphlets –A young Vietnamese Army regular, who realized his side could not win the war, deserted from his unit after reading Open Arms program Pamphlets. That's good, Smokepaw. But why does it say North Vietnamese Army regular? Is there an Irregular? How about North Vietnamese Army soldier?" Blackstar admired Smokepaw's work but he found a bump in the title and wanted some clarifications. Smokepaw looked at his leader realizing he made a grammarian error.

"I'll fix it up sir." Smokepaw responded as he took the paper away for some further revising. Blackstar continued to speak.

"Misses Leopardstar's interview gonna go out on TV in two weeks. Smokepaw, do a hundred words on it. AFTV'll give you some background stuff." Blackstar gave Smokepaw another assignment. Smokepaw nodded as he went off to do the assignment 100 words wasn't a lot. Blackstar continued to read.

"Not While We're eating—N.V.A. learn marines on a search and destroy mission don't like to be interrupted while eating chow. Search and destroy. Uh, we have a new directive from M.A.F. on this. In the future, in place of search and destroy, substitute the phrase sweep and clear. Got it?" Blackstar asked Squirrelpaw who returned after hearing her name.

"Got it. Very catchy." Squirrelpaw liked it. Blackstar continued to read it over when he realized something was missing.

"And, Squirrelpaw… where's the weenie?" Blackstar asked him. Squirrelpaw was wondering what a weenie was.

"Sir!" Squirrelpaw responded. Blackstar looked at her holding her paper.

"The kill, Squirrelpaw. The kill. I mean all that fire, the grunts must've hit something." Blackstar was wondering who was killed that day. Squirrelpaw was a little confused by his action.

"Didn't see 'em." Squirrelpaw responded as she didn't see any kills. Blackstar looked at her. He began to speak.

"Squirrelpaw, I've told you, we run two basic stories here. Grunts who give half of their pay to buy gooks toothbrushes and deodorants—Winning of Hearts and Minds—okay? And combat action that results in a kill—Winning the war. Now you must have seen blood trails… drag marks." Blackstar spoke to her as he wanted to make it clear. Squirrelpaw decided to come up with an excuse for all of this.

"It was raining, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Blackstar knew it wasn't good enough. He soon turned and spoke.

"Well, that's why Starclan passed the law of probability. Now rewrite it and give it a happy ending—say, uh, one kill. Make it a sapper or an officer. Which?" Blackstar advised her to rewrite the paper as he wanted to say that they were winning instead of spreading the truth around. Squirrelpaw nodded.

"Whichever you say." Squirrelpaw responded. Blackstar continued to speak with her. He wanted those papers to be clear.

"Grunts like reading about dead officers." Blackstar spoke to her. Squirrelpaw nodded if that was what he had wanted.

"Okay, an officer. How about a general?" Squirrelpaw asked him as she wanted to exaggerate on it. A few cats in the writing building laughed as Blackstar wasn't laughing at all.

"Squirrelpaw, maybe you'd like our warriors to read the paper and feel bad. I mean in case you didn't know it, this is not a particularly popular war. Now it's our job to report the news that these why-are-we-here civilian news cats ignore." Blackstar spoke to her on why he wanted her to brighten up the paper and not herself. He didn't want to ruin their morale so they knew they had to keep it high even if it meant lying.

"Sir, maybe you should go out on some ops yourself. I'm sure you could find a lot more blood trails and drag marks." Squirrelpaw told Blackstar to go out there himself and experience some combat. Every cat inside began to laugh except for Blackstar. Blackstar spoke to her as he wanted to square her straight away.

"Squirrelpaw, I've had my ass in the grass. Can't say I liked it much. Lots of bugs and too dangerous. As it happens, my present duties keep me where I belong. In the rear with the gear." Blackstar told her. Squirrelpaw nodded as she went off to go do her paper. Blackstar nodded as he was happy with the fact that she was going away to rewrite her paper.

Dusk approached as the fireworks were going off. It was clear that it was time to celebrate. Squirrelpaw sighed as she was in her cot. She was with Leafpaw, Crowpaw, Whitepaw, Mothwing and Hawkfrost. Squirrelpaw sighed as she was hanging out with the others.

"Tet. The year of the Monkey. Vietnamese Lunar New Year's Eve. Down in the Dogpatch The gooks are shooting off fireworks to celebrate." Squirrelpaw mewed to herself writing in her personal book. The others were in the bunks, reading, lazing around, smoking. Squirrelpaw yawned as she stretched herself. "I'm fucking bored to death. I gotta get back in the shit. I ain't heard a shot fired in anger in weeks." Whitepaw looked at her as she spoke.

"Joker's so tough, she'd eat the boogers out of dead tom's nose… then ask for seconds." Whitepaw mewed. Some of the cats in the bunks laughed. The door opened as Sorrelpaw joined them. Squirrelpaw decided now was the best time to put on her best accent.

"Listen up, pilgrim. A day without blood is like a day without sunshine." Whitepaw wanted to comment on that as she wanted to make fun of her.

"Shi-i—i-t! Joker thinks' the bad bush is between old mama-san's legs." Whitepaw responded as Sorrelpaw was laying down to rest up for the night. The same cats began to laugh again.

"Welcome to 1968. The year that Thunderclan kicks ass and eats brass." Hawkfrost responded as he soon grabbed his lighter to light up a cigar.

"She's never been in the shit. It's hard to talk about it. It's like Hastings." Whitepaw responded Smokepaw and Talonpaw came in as Talonpaw laid down on his cot.

"Aw, you weren't on Operation Hastings, Sky. You weren't even in the country." Talonpaw spoke as he was wondering about the operation. Whitepaw was ready to flip out.

"Eat shit and die you fucking Shadowclan apprentice! You fucking poge! I was there. I was in the shit with the grunts." Whitepaw defended herself as she was saying that she really was there No one bothered to laugh. Squirrelpaw soon in her accent spoke.

Don't listen to any of Whitepaw's bullshit, Rafter-man. Sometimes she thinks she's John Wayne." Squirrelpaw responded. Whitepaw couldn't really help but agree with her.

"You listen to Joker, new tom. She knows. Ti ti. Very little. You know she's never been in the shit, cause she ain't got the stare." Whitepaw spoke as everyone went silent when she said the last two words in that phrase. Rafter-man looked at her as he had just got into the bunk.

"The stare?" Rafter-man asked them wondering what they meant by the stare. Whitepaw decided to respond telling them what the stare was.

"The thousand-yard stare. A marine gets it after he's or she's been in the shit for too long. It's like… it's like you've really seen beyond. I've got it. All field marines got it. And you'll have it too." Whitepaw responded as the stare could happen to anyone. Mothwing lifter her head from her magazine as the cover had some she-cats on it.

"I will?" Rafter-man responded as he puts down his gear to feel more comfortable. No one really wanted to find out what the stare was and Sorrelpaw decided to come up with a joke to distract them from the discussion on the stare.

"Hey Sky. How do you stop five Kittypet toms from banging a Thunderclan She-cat?" Sorrelpaw asked her. Whitepaw turned to her as she wanted to hush her mouth.

"Fuck you, Sorrelpaw." Whitepaw snapped at her. Sorrelpaw wasn't really bothered by this that much.

"Throw'em a basketball." Sorrelpaw responded as everyone laughed at the joke except for Whitepaw. Soon a hurl was heard as an explosion went off. It sounded like a mortar was going off. Smokepaw looked out to see some mortar shells exploded right in front of their bunker.

"Incoming!" Smokepaw shouted. Whitepaw got out of her bunk as she raced off to grab her M60.

"Oh shit!" Whitepaw cursed to herself as she grabbed an ammo belt as she loaded it into the M60.

"They're outgoing." Talonpaw called out. Smokepaw listened as they continued to rush through. Grabbing weapons and getting ready to fight.

"That ain't outgoing!" Smokepaw called to him. Another explosion happened as it was much louder this time.

"That ain't outgoing!" Talonpaw shouted. Smokepaw looked at him.

"Now what did I just say?" The cats soon grabbed their helmets, weapons and flak jackets as they all run to the gates.

"Joker is this for real?" Rafter-man asked as he grabbed his M16A1. Squirrelpaw looked at him.

"Yes it is Rafter-man." Squirrelpaw responded. The cats were soon running everythwere as mortar rounds land in the distance then others near them. Fires were beginning to break out. They soon piled into a defensive bunker ready to fire. Squirrelpaw grabbed a spare M60 laying around as she loaded a 250 round belt into it as she was ready to spray lead and let them get a taste of it.

"Hey, I hope they're just fucking with us. I ain't ready for this shit." Squirrelpaw responded as they soon got into their defensive positions. Sorrelpaw soon joined by her side loading her M14 in.

"Amen." Sorrelpaw responded. Soon a truck appeared as it was heading straight for the gate as the gate although closed, was not immune from damage. They however were prepared for it. The truck soon smashes through the gate as they all began to open their guns up on it. The truck was one big target and able to take a lot of led. The truck didn't stand a chance as it soon exploded and started to burn. N.V.A cats soon ran inside as Squirrelpaw was spraying them away with the spare M60. The attackers struggled to find cover as they weren't prepared for this as they were mercilessly mowed down like a lawnmower cutting grass. Soon the speakers erupted with the voice of a cat.

"Cease fire!" The cat shouted. Soon the fire went silent as they knew it was over but it was just the beginning.

Rafter-man and Squirrelpaw walked through the wreckage of the battle from last night as Prisoners were lead past them. Blackstar decided to make an announcement.

"The enemy has very deceitfully taken advantage of the Tet ceasefire to launch an offensive all over the country. So far we've had it pretty easy here. But we seem to be the exception." Blackstar announced as he wanted all the cats ready to fight instead of publishing papers.

Later they were all gathered as Blackstar was making the announcement as the cats knew that this wasn't good at all. Blackstar walked around speaking.

"Charlie has hit every major military target in Vietnam, and hit 'em hard. In Saigon the Thunderclan embassy has been overrun by suicide squads. Khe Sahn is standing by to be overrun. We also have reports that a division of N.V.A has occupied all of the city of Hue, south of the perfume river. In strategic terms, Charlie's cut the country in half. The civilian press are about to wet their pants and we've heard Cronkite's going to say that the war is now unwinnable. In other words, it's a huge shit sandwich, and we're all gonna have to take a bite." Blackstar mewed as he laid out the news. It was clear that if the cats wanted action, they were going to get it. All the cats stayed silent as a few minutes passed. Squirrelpaw soon spoke.

"Sir, does this mean that Ann-Margret's not coming?" Squirrelpaw asked. Everyone laughed. Blackstar was pissed off and he had to straighten her act out before making any more remarks not appropriate to the topic.

"Squirrelpaw… I want you to get straight up to Phu Bai. Firestar will need all his cats." Blackstar gave her the direct orders. This counted for the other apprentices. Crowpaw, Mothwing and Hawkfrost as well as Tawnypelt.

"Yes, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Rafter-man headed forth as he wanted to go with her. Blackstar soon spoke.

And Squirrelpaw, you will take off that damn button. How's it gonna look if you get killed wearing… a peace symbol?" Blackstar was confused on why she was wearing a peace symbol on her flak vest. Rafter-man soon interrupted to speak to Blackstar.

"Sir? Permission to go with Squirrelpaw?" Rafter-man asked Blackstar. Blackstar turned to him as he spoke.

"Permission granted." Blackstar responded. Rafter-man was relieved.

"Thank you sir." Rafter-man responded. Squirrelpaw wanted to speak.

"Sir, permission not to take Rafter-man with me?" Squirrelpaw asked. Blackstar looked at her as he didn't like it.

"You still here? Vanish, Squirrelpaw, most ricky-tick, and take Rafter-man with you. You're responsible for him." Blackstar wanted Squirrelpaw gone and have her take her friends with her. It was clear that they were going to get more than what they bargained for.

**[A/N]: Sorry for not responding. I needed a break after getting these chapters out and I want the attention. If you can review as well as read this, I will be grateful to see there will be more people willing to get this out. More chapters out the faster I can get this done. I will see you next chapter.**


	12. The duality of a cat

Helicopters were flying along as they were the standard Huey's. They were flying past the sun as it was laying low in the early morning. They were split into two Huey's seeing how they needed to fit everyone on there.

Leafpaw and Crowpaw were in one of them. Crowpaw was scared about being up in the air but Leafpaw was there to assure him nothing would happen when she was around her.

"So this is what it feels like to be part of the flight of the Valkyries. You should be excited for this Crowpaw." Leafpaw mewed as she wanted him to not feel scared. Crowpaw turned his head to Leafpaw as he was feeling nervous.

"But what if they decide to shoot us down while we're in the air?" Crowpaw asked her. Leafpaw was there to assure him that nothing was going to happen.

"If we were under attack, the pilots know what to do. So just relax and let us listen to the blades whirl above out heads." Leafpaw told him that the pilots knew what they were doing and he could stop worrying about it. Leafpaw kept Crowpaw close to her as Mothwing was reading another magazine.

In the other Huey was Squirrelpaw, Tawnypelt and Rafter-man. Rafterman is frightened and air sick, Squirrelpaw was looking out the side of the Huey as Tawnypelt was screaming away and laughing as she fired the M60 from the mount in the Helicopter. Many cats and other animals were falling as Tawnypelt continued to spray the bullets from the M60.

"Get some… get some… get some… get some… yeah! Yeah! Get some… get some!" Tawnypelt shouted as she was firing away to see how many she would strike down. Squirrelpaw looked at her as she continued to fire away. Tawnypelt soon stopped the firing as she looked at Squirrelpaw. "Anyone who runs is a V.C. Anyone who stands still is a well-disciplined V.C." She soon laughed at that remark letting the barrel of the M60 cool down after the intense firing. "You cats oughtta do a story about me sometime." Squirrelpaw looked at her as she thought she was crazy being the door gunner.

"Why should we do a story about you?" Squirrelpaw asked her wondering why they should write about her. Tawnypelt looked at Squirrelpaw as she was keeping an eye out for more gooks.

"Cause I'm so fucking good! That ain't no shit neither. I've done got me one hundred and fifty-seven gooks killed. And fifty water buffaloes too. Them're all certified." Tawnypelt responded. Squirrelpaw was concerned about her reckless shooting. Rafter-man gagged as he didn't want to see the sights of dead corpses.

"And she-cats and kits?" Squirrelpaw asked her if they saw any. Tawnypelt shrugged.

"Sometimes." Tawnypelt responded as she slumped over as she wanted to catch a break. Squirrelpaw was frightened about this as she didn't care what she shot.

"How can you shoot she-cats and kits?" Squirrelpaw asked her wondering why she would do such a volatile act. Rafter-man gagged again as he didn't want to see the corpses that Tawnypelt filled with led.

"Easy. You just don't lead'em so much." Tawnypelt responded before she began to laugh again. "Ain't war hell?"

The Huey's soon came to the post as the cats got off them. They were looking for their squad as other Thunderclan cats came racing past them carrying bodies of wounded cats onto the Huey's. Squirrelpaw and Rafter-man wanted to look for the squad they were assigned.

"Excuse me top." Squirrelpaw began. The cat assigned to them looked at them as he soon wondered what this she-cat wanted. "We want to get in the shit." She made the request. The tom soon knew what she meant as he spoke.

"Down the road, two-five." He responded. Squirrelpaw nodded as the others soon gathered around her.

"Two-five. Outstanding! Thank's master sergeant." Squirrelpaw mewed as she knew where they were to go. Leafpaw and Crowpaw came first as they followed Squirrelpaw. Crowpaw couldn't stand the heat but he had Leafpaw with him.

The group continued down the road as they passed a small canal on the outskirts of Hue. Tank's trucks and Thunderclan cats were moving into the city as refugees were heading the other way to safety. Squirrelpaw and the group soon caught up to a one eyed she-cat holding her M14 expecting the carnage.

"Excuse me! Ma'am… we're here looking for first platoon, hotel two-five. We were just assigned to it." Squirrelpaw asked her if she had any ideas on where to go. She turned to her.

"You cat's one-one?" She asked them. Squirrelpaw looked at her as she spoke.

"No, Ma'am. We're reporters for the Thunderclan newspaper Stars and Stripes." Squirrelpaw stated to her. She soon nodded as she was wondering who they meant.

"Stars and stripes?" She asked puzzled. Squirrelpaw knew it was their name as she went to her.

"Yes Ma'am. Also we have Whitepaw with us." Squirrelpaw soon told her as Whitepaw recognized the one eyed cat.

"Mother?" Whitepaw asked. She ran up to her and hugged her. The one-eyed she-cat soon spoke.

"Dappletail's the platoon commander. The squad is just down the road in the rest area." The she-cat spoke as she got up from her post as she was properly relieved. Squirrelpaw knew that was where she wanted to go next.

"Oh. You mind if we tag along, ma'am?" Squirrelpaw asked her if she wouldn't mind having them come along.

"No problem. Welcome aboard. By the way my name is Brightheart. They call me one-eye since I lost an eye from the previous war I was in. I have found someone that really loves me." She mewed leading them down the road. Squirrelpaw was wondering about it.

"Love?" Leafpaw asked her wondering who it was. Brightheart laughed.

"Yeah." Brightheart spoke. Squirrelpaw nodded as Leafpaw got the memo, holding Crowpaw close to her.

"All right." Leafpaw responded carrying the medical supplies and her weapon.

"You here to make my platoon famous?" Brightheart asked them as they were here to make them on the papers." Squirrelpaw soon spoke.

"Ha! Never happen, Ma'am." Squirrelpaw responded as she continued to lead them down the road.

"Well, if you cats came looking for a story, this is your lucky day. We got Condition Red and we're expecting rain." Brightheart spoke to them. Squirrelpaw nodded as she knew they had the perfect condition for a story.

"Outstanding, ma'am. We taking care of business?" Squirrelpaw asked her if they would be doing it themselves. Brightheart responded back.

"Well the N.V.A are dug in deep. Hotel Company's still working this side of the river." Brightheart explained. Squirrelpaw nodded. "Street by street and house by house. Charlie's definitely got his shit together. But we're still getting some really decent kills here." Squirrelpaw soon spoke.

"We heard some scuttlebutt, sir, about the N.V.A executing a lot of gook civilians." Squirrelpaw spoke. Brightheart nodded.

"That's affirmative. I saw some bodies about half a klick this side of the Phu Cam Canal." Brightheart responded. Squirrelpaw didn't know where it was.

"Can you show me where, ma'am?" Squirrelpaw asked. Brightheart soon went into her pocket to get out a map.

"Here's the canal…" Brightheart began. It seemed to trail off until they were able to know where it was.

Squirrelpaw, Leafpaw, Crowpaw and Rafter-man soon approached a mass grave area a little while later. They looked down into a large open grave at a row of lime-covered corpses. Journalists, marines and civilians are grouped around the grave. A work detail leans on the shovels, their faces covered by bandanas against the stench. Squirrelpaw turned to the others.

"The dead have been covered with lime. The dead only know one thing. It is better to be alive." Squirrelpaw told them. She soon got up as she made her way to a gray tom holding an Uzi as he was studying the lime covered corpses. "Excuse me. Good morning, Sergeant." Squirrelpaw greeted the cat. The gray tom turned to them.

"Good morning." The tom responded. Squirrelpaw was happy to see him as she soon spoke.

"I make it twenty. Is that the official body count, sir?" Squirrelpaw spoke. The gray tom nodded as he looked at them. He soon spoke sharply.

"What outfit are you cats with?" The gray tom asked wondering what group they were a part of.

"Sir we're reporters from Stars and Stripes." Squirrelpaw responded as she wanted to speak to her about it. The gray tom knew what they were as he warmed up to them.

"Oh, I see." He responded. The others gathered around as they continued working on the corpses.

"I'm Private Squirrelpaw and this is my sister Private Leafpaw and her friend Private Crowpaw. And this photographer that is accompanying us is Rafter-man." Squirrelpaw introduced herself and the crowd. Rafter-man got out Leafpaw's camera as he began snapping photos of the gray tom.

"I'm Sergeant Graystripe. I'm from Wilmington, Delaware." Graystripe introduced himself. Squirrelpaw stuck out her paw as Graystripe shook it. Squirrelpaw soon brought up the body count again.

"Have you got a body count, sir?" Squirrelpaw asked him again. Graystripe turned his head as he spoke to her.

"We think it's twenty." Graystripe responded. Squirrelpaw got the number but she soon asked him again.

"Do you know how it happened, sir?" Squirrelpaw asked him. Graystripe soon tried to remember but he soon remembered as he spoke.

"Well it seems the N.V.A. came with a list of gook names. Government officials, policemen, ARVN officers, schoolteachers. They went around their houses real polite and asked them to report for the next day political re-education. Everyone who turned up got shot. Some of them buried alive." Graystripe responded. As their leader Firestar recognized Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw came walking over with their lovely mother, Sandstorm and Sorrelpaw behind. They all turned their attention saluting to Firestar as he appeared.

"Graystripe!" Firestar called out. Graystripe turned as he saluted to Firestar.

"Firstar." Graystripe responded back. Firestar was surprised to see Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw in combat as he soon noticed Squirrelpaw was off.

"Squirrelpaw, daughter. What's that button on your body armor?" Firestar asked her wondering what the button was. Squirrelpaw looked down as she soon looked back up before opening her mouth.

"A peace symbol sir." Squirrelpaw spoke. Firestar looked at her as he soon spoke again.

"Where'd you get it?" Firestar was wondering where she got it. Squirrelpaw tried to remember where she got it but she couldn't remember.

"I don't remember, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Firestar was a bit frustrated with her seeing how she couldn't remember where she got the button. He soon turned to her helmet.

"What is that you've got written on your helmet?" Firestar asked her. Squirrelpaw soon took off her helmet as she turned it to the front to see that it had three big black words on it. She soon turned as she spoke.

"It says "Born to Kill" sir." Squirrelpaw responded as she decided to put her helmet back on. Firestar was confused with his own daughter.

"You write "Born to Kill" on your helmet and you wear a peace button. What's that supposed to be, some kind of sick joke?!" Firestar asked her if this was a joke or she had something bigger in mind.

"No, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Firestar looked at her as he wanted to straighten his kit out.

"You'd better get your head and your ass wired together, or I will take a giant shit on you!" Firestar spoke sternly as he wanted her to get herself straightened out.

"Yes, sir." Squirrelpaw spoke. Firestar wanted to ask her answer his question on why she brought a peace button onto the field.

"Now answer my question or you'll be standing tall before the tom." Firestar wanted her to answer his question as Squirrelpaw spoke.

"I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of a cat, sir." Squirrelpaw spoke as she wanted to make her suggestion. Firestar was confused and wanted some clarification.

"The what?" Firestar asked her if she could put it in simpler terms.

"The duality of a cat. The Jungian thing, sir." Squirrelpaw spoke she didn't want to standing tall before the tom.

"Whose side are you on, my daughter?" Firestar asked her wondering what side she was a part of. Squirrelpaw spoke.

"Our side, sir." Squirrelpaw spoke as she knew that she was on their side and not the side of the N.V.A.

"Don't you love your country?" Firestar asked her wondering if she really had faith in Thunderclan.

"Yes, sir." Squirrelpaw responded. Firestar nodded before he spoke.

"Then how about getting with the program? Why don't you jump on the team and come on in for the big win?" Firestar asked her wondering if she would leap in for the team and go in there to win the battle.

"Yes, sir!" Squirrelpaw shouted as she was excited about this. The others nodded as they wanted to participate in this.

"Daughter, all I've ever asked for my Thunderclan cats is that they obey my orders as they would the word of Starclan. We are here to help the Vietnamese, because inside of every gook there is a Thunderclan cat trying to get out. It's a hardball world, girl. We gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over." Firestar told her on what he wanted. Squirrelpaw got excited as they knew they were going to fully meet their squad.

"Aye-aye, sir." Squirrelpaw mewed as she smiled. Firestar nodded as he began to lead everyone to where they were resting.

The others had scampered ahead as Squirrelpaw and Rafter-man brought up the rear. Trucks drove along as a helicopter flew overhead. Thunderclan cats were busy unboxing the trucks as they wanted to get the supplies over. The radio soon began playing music as the cat soon began singing.

"Uno, Dos, One, Tres, Quattro!" The radio began playing it only meant one thing. Wooly Bully. Squirrelpaw walked around as she wanted to find her squad.

"Wooly Bully!" Tawnypelt shouted. She soon turned to Squirrelpaw and Rafter-man who were looking for their squad.

"First platoon?" Squirrelpaw asked her wondering where they were. Tawnypelt turned to her.

"Yeah through there." Tawnypelt responded as they soon began to walk to into the courtyard where all the cats were stationed there. A white and brown tom was busy shaving himself as he soon turned seeing the two cats. One of whom he recognized.

"Hey lone ranger." Squirrelpaw greeted him. It turned out the brown and white tom was indeed Cowboy. He soon turned to Squirrelpaw.

"Holy shit!" Cowboy responded as a grin developed across his face. Squirrelpaw soon went over to her. She soon took off her helmet.

"You old motherfucker." Squirrelpaw responded. Cowboy soon finished up as he wiped off as he spoke to Squirrelpaw.

"It's the Joker." Cowboy spoke. They soon hugged each other as they knew it was the first time they saw each other in months. He soon released her as Squirrelpaw spoke.

"What's happenin'?" Squirrelpaw asked him. Cowboy soon looked at her.

"Boy, I hoped I'd never see you again, you piece of shit!" Cowboy responded before hugging Squirrelpaw again. Squirrelpaw laughed. She soon began to speak to him.

"What's happening, man?" Squirrelpaw asked him. Cowboy soon spoke.

"Oh, I'm just waiting to get back to the land of the big PX." Cowboy responded. Squirrelpaw soon spoke next.

"Yeah? Well, why go back? Here or there, samey-same." Squirrelpaw spoke. They soon released each other as they began to joke around.

"Been getting any?" Cowboy asked him if she had seen action. Squirrelpaw wanted to pull off more jokes with him.

"Only your sister." Squirrelpaw spoke as she knew about it. Cowboy laughed as he spoke.

"Well, better my sister than my mom, though my mom's not bad." Cowboy responded. He soon turned them as he began to speak to the rest of the squad. "Hey you hogs, this is my sis, Joker and this is…" Cowboy introduced them to Squirrelpaw and the gang he didn't know who was traveling with her.

"Rafter-man." Squirrelpaw introduced him to the group.

"…Rafter-man. They're from the Stars and Stripes. They'll make you famous." Cowboy finished the introductory.

"All right." The cats cheered except for one big fluffy white tom with blue eyes. He had his green uniform on as several belts of ammo were wrapped around his body as he was holding his M60 with just one paw and on his helmet it read "I Am Become Death." "We're in the Lusthog squad. We're life-takers and heartbreakers." Cowboy spoke again. The tom walked over to Squirrelpaw as it was clear he was her cousin. "We shoot 'em full of holes and fill 'em full of lead." The cats cheered as the cat soon spoke to Squirrelpaw.

"You a photographer?" He spoke. Squirrelpaw looked at the cat as she wasn't afraid of her big cousin.

"No… I'm a combat correspondent." Squirrelpaw responded. Some of the cats cheered as they were getting excited to see where this was going. The white tom smiled.

"Oh, you seen much combat?" He asked her if she got into any battles. Squirrelpaw soon spoke returning the smile as one formed over her muzzle.

"Well, I've seen a little on TV." Squirrelpaw responded. Some of the group began to laugh.

"You're a real comedian." The tom responded. The laughs were getting steadily louder. Squirrelpaw knew he had to squeeze an inch above him.

"Well, they call me the joker." Squirrelpaw responded. The crowd began to laugh as they knew where this was going.

"Well I got a joke for you. I'm gonna tear you a new asshole." The tom responded the laughed at them as they were going to see where the joke war was going to go. Squirrelpaw knew she had to get one over him.

"Well, pilgrim… only after you… eat the peanuts out of my shit!" Squirrelpaw taunted the big warrior as more cheers and laughter was heard. The white tom soon spoke.

"You talk the talk. Do you walk the walk?" He asked her as he was wondering what was going on. The cheers from cats got loud as a black tom came over to him. Wanting to break this up.

"Now you might not believe it but under fire, Cloudtail is one of the finest Warrior Cats in the world." The black tom responded as the crowd laughed. He soon finished his words off. "All he needs is some cat to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." He spoke. The cats laughed as he lead Cloudtail away. Cowboy turned to Squirrelpaw.

"Come on, sit down. Come on Joker." Cowboy responded. The tom and Cloudtail soon sat down after this day.

"Hey jungle bunny. Thank Starclan for the sickle cell, huh?" Cloudtail mewed to the black tom who was cleaning his M16.

"Yeah Cloudtail." He responded. Another cat of the squad who was a tabby who had the name of Crazy Earl wanted Rafter-man's attention. He had his Daisy Ryder BB gun with him.

"Hey Photographer! Want to take a good picture?" He asked. Rafter-man got up as he walked over to Crazy Earl. He soon got the picture ready. "Here take this." He responded before hushing him. "This… is my bro." Crazy Earl soon lifted a hat up as it was covering the dead body of an tom cat a N.V.A soldier to be exact. The cats burst out in laughter. "This is his party. He is the guest of honor. Today… is his birthday." The cats looked at him as they wanted to speak to him. Rafter-man began snapping photos.

"Happy Birthday Zipperhead." Cloudtail sarcastically mewed. The other cheers were wishing the dead tom a nice birthday.

"I will never forget this day. The day I came to Hue City and fought one million N.V.A. gooks." Crazy Earl began. He continued to speak. "I love the little Commie bastards, man, I really do. These enemy grunts are as hard as slant-eyed drill instructors. These are great days we're living bros! We are jolly green giants, walking the earth with guns. These cats we wasted here today… are the finest warriors we will ever know. After we rotate back to the world, we're gonna miss not having anyone around that's worth shooting." The cats laughed as it was clear that their mission was coming soon but they just didn't know when.

**[A/N]: Well updates will be less frequent since I am feeling overworked and we're not getting a lot of attention for this. We need more views if we keep the ball rolling so try to review at the end to see what you want to happen next.**

**Speaking of which, what fanfic genres ten to generate the most amount of views and reviews since I feel like I might have to hop on a bandwagon to see try to get the most out of everything. I really don't like getting that much attention I really do not. So tell me what I should do next.**

**Also what did Squirrelpaw mean by the Jungian thing. Is she expressing the duality of the cat. If you know the answer, leave it as a review so I can look over it. Anyways that is all and I will try to get back to you.**


	13. Interviews

Squirrelpaw and the others had received their order, a sweep and clear operation along the other side of the river and hopefully the capture of the canal. M60 Patton tanks rolled along as they would provide the support to the attack. Squirrelpaw marched along clutching to her M16A1. The tanks rolled along as they were keeping an eye out for any suspecting attack. Soon something flew by as it was just one of them but it was deadly. Soon the round exploded causing one of the cats to be forced down by the blast. Leafpaw heard it as she ran over to provide the cat with some aid. The other cats ducked behind for cover. Cloudtail bring up the M60 machine gun and began to pepper away at the formation. Firestar soon crawled along as he was looking for what was going on. He soon darted back as he knew he needed a field radio. He soon found one of the tanks providing a field radio as he grabbed the phone calling desperately. The rest of them lay there flat seeing it would provide the most amount of protection against incoming bullets.

"Delta Six." The cat on the other side of the radio asked. Firestar knew that he needed.

"Delta Six, we are receiving incoming fire from the ville. One of us is down and we're going to stop here and check out what's in front of us over." Firestar called over the radio as he knew their tanks could be destroyed and taken down. Crazy Earl decided to gather their attention to see if they could mass an attack.

"Okay Lusthog Squad, Listen up! We're gonna move up these two roads and check the ville. I want the third team up this road here." He soon grabbed a marker as he pointed to where he wanted them to go. "First and second team behind me up this road, okay?" He asked as he pointed to the road. The cheers of right and okay were heard as Crazy Earl smiled. Let's go! Let's get this done!" The others soon ran as they headed for the ville.

Brightheart got to the building as Cloudtail and Whitepaw did the same. They soon one by one began to arrive. One of the cats named Paw job. Soon peered from a corner as a hail of automatic gun fire cuts him down. Cloudtail peered from the cover firing his M60 away at the buildings to see where the gun fire was coming from. The others joined in as they wanted to leave the building in ruins. Spiderpaw soon got out his M79 Grenade launcher and fired it at the building. The window he shot it into blows up sending chunks of the building scattering in different directions. Another combat medic Doc Jay soon ran up to try to treat Paw job. Rafter-man got out the camera as he takes a few pictures of it. The gun fire soon slacked and then it became quiet. Squirrelpaw reloaded the M16A1 she had as the others began to do the same. Crazy Earl soon reloaded as some N.V.A. Gooks raced out of the building. Six of them. Squirrelpaw and the others raised their rifles as they soon went to full auto in the hopes of cutting them all down. The six of them saw the rounds but it was too late for them as they were soon shot down. Crazy Earl finished reloading as two more gooks raced along. He soon gave them one long spray with the M16A1 as he cuts them down. Crazy Earl grins as a radio nearby began to play.

"I want everybody say about the bird." The radio cracked. The M60 Pattons were on the move as they were going to support the cats. A Huey soon landed as cats ran along with supplies and wounded to be taken away. They were all huddled behind a wall as three she-cats came along as they were slowly going backwards carrying a camera and a microphone on a stick as the radio continued to play. Cats continued to funnel past carrying wounded as one of the tank gunners was spraying away at their .50 caliber. The tank fired as they continued backing up. The tank fired again as they approached Squirrelpaw and her squad.

"Is that you John Wayne?" She asked wondering if it was him on the camera. The camera soon passed Cowboy. "Is this me?

"Hey, start the cameras. This is Vietnam—the movie!" Cowboy spoke out. Their friend the black tom also known as Eightball spoke.

"Yeah Joker can be John Wayne. I'll be a horse." He mewed as he wanted a role. Crowpaw looked at him.

"Spiderpaw can be a rock." Crowpaw mewed as he wanted to give his brother the rocks role. Spiderpaw soon spoke.

"I'll be Ann-Margret!" Spiderpaw joked with them. Doc Jay spoke.

"Cloudtail can be a rabid buffalo!" He mewed as Crazy Earl spoke.

"I'll be General Custer!" Crazy Earl told them as he wanted that role but they were leaving out the most important role.

"Well, who'll be the Indians?" Rafter-man spoke as he was wondering who was going to be them. Cloudtail spoke.

"Hey, we'll let the gooks play the Indians." Cloudtail responded. They soon burst into laughter as the cats with the audio equipment continued to move off. Once the helicopter collected the wounded cats, it soon took off as it flew away.

The cats looked over the two bodies. They had eight kills but at the cost of two of their own. Paw job and an unknown tom that was killed in the ambush. It was clear they were going to halt before continuing up. They gathered around the bodies to say their goodbyes.

"You're going home now." Spiderpaw mewed as he took off his helmet to show some respect.

"Semper fi." Crazy Earl mewed as he wanted to pay his respect.

"We're mean marines sir." Crowpaw mewed as he paid his respect.

"Go easy bros." Eightball mewed as he paid his respect.

"Better you than me." Cloudtail remarked holding Brightheart close to him.

"Well at least they died for a good cause." Rafter-man responded. Cloudtail turned to him wondering what he meant.

"What cause is that?" Cloudtail asked him wondering what he clearly meant.

"Freedom." Rafter-man spoke as he was telling him they died for their freedom.

"Flush out your head gear, new tom. You think we waste gooks for freedom? This is a slaughter. If I'm gonna get my balls blow off for a word… my word is poontang." Cloudtail responded as he wanted to go out if he did in style. Cowboy looked at them.

"Tough break for Paw job. He was all set to get shipped out on a medical." Cowboy spoke. Squirrelpaw turned to him.

"What was the matter with him?" Squirrelpaw asked Cowboy what was wrong with Paw job.

He was jerkin' off ten times a day." Cowboy responded as he gave his response on what was going on. Eightball turned to him.

"It's no shit. At least ten times a day." Eightball responded as he knew that tom had problems.

"Yeah compare that to Mothwing who would be jerkin' off every chance she gets." Leafpaw responded as she knew that she had some problems.

"Last week he was sent down to Da Nang to see the Navy head shrinker, and the crazy fucker starts jerking off in the waiting room." Cowboy responded as he described the experience. It was clear Mothwing had similar problems to Paw job. "Instant Section Eight. He was just waiting for his papers to clear the division." Cowboy finished up.

It was later as the cats decided to gather around to see what was going on. They were getting reviewed and broadcasted on television. Some of the she-cats gathered around them as Cloudtail was the first to be interviewed.

"You ready?" One of the she-cat asked her. The other one responded.

"Yeah." She nodded as she soon spoke.

"Turnover." She mewed. This got the cat to begin filming.

"Rolling." She mewed. She soon held out a clip which would say the role and their action.

"Hue City interviews. Roll thirty-four. Action!" She mewed before slapping the handle down as she pulled away. Cloudtail had his M60 slung over his shoulders as he began to speak.

"Well… like, like you see, you know, it's a major city, so we have to assault with, uh… tanks. So, they send us in first squad… to make sure that there are no little Vietnamese waiting with, like, B-40 rockets that blow the tanks away. So we clear it out and we roll the tanks in and… basically blow the place to hell." Cloudtail explained on what their operation was. They soon nodded as they went to the next cat to film.

"When we're in Hue… when we're in Hue City… it's like a war. You know like what I thought about a war was, was supposed to be. There's the enemy, kill 'em." Cowboy responded as he had his take.

"Well, I don't think there's any question about it. I mean we're the best. I mean that bullshit about the Air Cav… When the shit really hits the fan, who do they call? They call Mother Green and her killing machine!" Rafter-man responded as they were finished interviewing with him.

"Do I think Thunderclan belongs in Vietnam? Um… I don't know. I belong in Vietnam. I'll tell you that." Crazy Earl responded as he had his interview down.

"Can I quote L.B.J?" Doc Jay asked the she cat if he can speak in his words.

"Sure." The she-cat mewed. Doc Jay grumbled as he soon spoke with a deep accent.

"I will not send any Thunderclan toms or she-cats eight or ten thousand miles around the world to do a job that Pandas oughtta be doin' for themselves." Doc Jay gave his best L.B.J impersonation.

"Personally, I think, uh… they don't really want to be involved in this war. I mean… they sort of took away our freedom and gave it to the gookers, you know. But they don't want it. They rather be alive than free, I guess. Poor dumb bastards." Eightball mewed about his opinion as he was being interviewed.

"Well, the ones I'm... I'm fighting at are some pretty bad boys. I'm not real keen on... some of these fellows that are. . . supposed to be on our side. I keep meeting'em coming the other way. Yeah." Cowboy spoke his opinion on the matter as he was still contemplating on being here.

"I mean, we're getting killed for these cats and they don't even appreciate it. They think it's a big joke." Crowpaw responded as Leafpaw was holding him. She didn't want to speak at the interview.

"Well if you ask me, uh, we're shooting the wrong gooks." Cloudtail responded as he was being interviewed again.

"Well it depends on the situation. I mean I'm—I'm here to take combat photos but if the shit gets too thick, I mean, I'll go with my rifle." Rafter-man responded as he was being interviewed.

"What do I think about Thunderclan's involvement in the war? Well, I think we should win." Cloudtail was being interviewed again. Everyone cheered thinking they were going to win.

"I hate Vietnam. There's not one horse in this whole country. They don't have one horse in Vietnam. There's something basically wrong with that." Cowboy responded as he spoke about his displeasure of being here. Everyone laughed.

"Well, if they'd sent us more cats and maybe bomb the hell out of the north, they might, uh, they might give up." Cloudtail responded as he wanted to give his suggestion.

"I wanted to see exotic Vietnam, the jewel of Southeast Asia. I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating cats of an ancient culture and... kill them. I wanted to be the first apprentice on my block to get a confirmed kill." Squirrelpaw mewed as she wanted to display her eagerness. She was determined to get as many kills as possible. The interviews stopped there.

The cats were seated on the outside of a theater on rows of broken movie theater seats. They were bored as they wanted to see some action. Soon a motor-scooter pulled up as it looked like a gray and white ARVN tom was in there as well as a pretty Siamese she-cat. She slowly got off as she approached them as she smiled. Many of the cats hooted and hollered except for the much older cats as they had loved ones with them in the war.

"Ten hut!" Cowboy shouted. The cats shouted as the apprentices continued the hoots and the hollers. "Good morning, little school she-cat, I'm a little school tom, too." The cats laughed as they wanted this cat. The older warriors turned away and resumed their talking. "What you got there, Chief?"

"Do you want number one?" He asked as they all burst out in laughter. They just wanted to mock the she-cat.

"Oh, I'm so horny. I can't even get a piece of hand." Squirrelpaw spoke in a mocking tone to the she-cat. The others began speaking out in their fashion.

"Hey! Hey! Me want suckee! Shrewpaw mocked at her as they continued to laugh. The older warriors continued to ignore the apprentice's mockery. The pimp soon spoke out.

"Suckee suckee, smoke cigarette in the pussy, she give you everything you want. Long time." The ARVN Pimp spoke out. They just laughed at his words.

"Everything you want? All right! How much there, chief?" Cowboy spoke as he wanted to know how much it would cost him for that She-cat.

"Fifteen dolla each." The pimp made the price as they didn't want to spend that much.

"Nooooooo!" They all screamed as they soon continued to mock the she-cat.

"Number ten. Fifteen dolla Beaucoup money." Cowboy hissed as he wanted to join in the fun. Everyone laughed as he sets the new price for the she-cat. "Five dolla each."

"Come on. She love you good. Boom-boom long time." The pimp responded as he knew she was more than just five dollars so he raised the price. "Ten dolla."

"Five dolla." Cowboy shouted back as he wanted to set the price.

"No. Ten dolla." The pimp responded as he wanted to set the price straight.

"Be glad to trade you some ARVN rifles. Never been fired and only dropped once." Cowboy made the deal on giving him some guns instead of paying a hefty price. He thought about it for a moment.

"Okay, five dolla. You give me." He hissed as they made the deal. The others cheered as they walked along.

"Okay, okay!" Cowboy called out as they didn't want to start up a fight. Eightball soon walked up to the Siamese cat as he wanted to make her comfortable.

"Let's get mounted." He purred wanting to make her comfortable but she turns back to the pimp as she began arguing with him. They soon wanted to make the conclusion as the pimp turned back to Eightball.

"Something wrong there chief?" Eightball asked him if there was something wrong.

"She says, uh, no boom-boom with soul brotha." The pimp responded as Eightball was let down a bit.

"Hey, what the mother fuck." Eightball hissed under his breath wondering why he wasn't chosen. The pimp spoke to him again.

"She say soul brotha too boo-coo. Too boo-coo." The pimp responded as he stated his reasoning.

"Hey, what is this, man?" Eightball asked him wondering why she wouldn't accept.

"I think what he's trying to tell you is that you kittypets pack too much meat." Cowboy responded as the cats laughed.

"Too boo-coo. Too boo-coo." The pimp responded. Eightball soon spoke back.

"Oh, shi-i-i-t!" Eightball mewed laughing. This baby-san looks like she could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch." The others began to laugh as the pimp continued to mock Eightball.

"She say too boo-coo. Too boo-coo." The pimp spoke. Eightball soon took her by the paw as he wanted to get first dibs with her.

"Uh, excuse me, ma'am. Now what we have here, little yellow sister, is a magnificent…" Eightball began using his tail as a lure to the she-cat. "…specimen of pure Alabama blacksnake. But it ain't too goddamn boo-coo." She looked down at it as she hoots it and cat called.

"Okay. Okay. Emjee." She called out to him. Cowboy saw this as another opportunity to mock her.

"Okay! Okay! Emjee! Emjee!" Cowboy mocked at her again. Eightball felt satisfied as he began to lead her away.

"All right! This way my boogie!" Eightball purred to her as he began to lead her away. Cowboy and Mothwing got up as Cowboy stopped Eightball.

"Hey, we need a batting order." Cowboy mewed to Eightball. Mothwing grabbed the Siamese cat by the other limb while Eightball held the other one.

"I'm going first." Mothwing hissed as she wanted dibs on that cat.

"Hey, now back off, white bread. Don't get between a dog and his meat." Eightball told Mothwing to take it easy. Mothwing slapped Eightball's paw off of the she-cat if he was a naughty cat. She soon began pushing her into the movie theater.

"All you straight male cats must fucking hang." Mothwing hissed as she walked off. They just laughed it off as she took the she-cat into the theater. "Hey, hey! I won't be long. I'll just get into it and skip the teasing." Mothwing and the she-cat walked into the theater.

**[A/N]: That's all for now and I believe there isn't that much left for what I can gather. A lot more violence will happen next chapter as some of the more minor characters will die. Also what do you think of this chapter? Took me nearly a day to make as it was a lot of interviews. Let me know on this so I can finish this story up.**


	14. The Sniper

Squirrelpaw and the rest of the patrol squad were walking through the ruins of the city a few days later. According to intelligence, the N.V.A. had pulled out area to positions across the river. The patrol was sent out to investigate. They were moving carefully as they would stumble upon a hornets nest with one very angry hornet.

Crazy Earl looked ahead as he saw the place was smoldering. He noticed a kit's toy laying on the ground. He soon turned to the squad.

"Stay here and let me investigate." Crazy Earl told them as he got up and began to walk to the toy. Squirrelpaw voiced her concern to him.

"Do you know if the toy is safe like it isn't being set like a trap or something?" Squirrelpaw asked him as he got close to the toy.

"Of course it is. It would be dumb if we set the toy up to be a trap of some sort." Crazy Earl responded as the tom got close. He soon picked up the toy as he knew it was completely harmless. "See nothing at all." Soon the toy exploded triggering a trap. Crazy Earl was flown across the battlefield landing right near their trench. He was critically injured. Doc Jay, Mothwing and Leafpaw ran over to try to treat him.

"Face outboard and take cover! Do it!" Cowboy ordered as they all ducked. Doc Jay was trying to give him some air. Mothwing and Leafpaw were trying to stop the bleeding. But their efforts were in vain. Cowboy and Squirrelpaw ran over as they Doc Jay turned to them.

"He ain't gonna make it." Doc Jay shrieked as he knew that his life was quickly slipping from him.

"Shit." Cowboy muttered to himself. He soon ran to find the field radio as he began to dial it as he wanted the assistance for the help. He soon picked up the phone to the radio as he began to speak. "Hotel One Actual, this is Cowboy." Doc Jay continued CPR to try to get Crazy Earl to breathe. Hotel One Actual, this is Cowboy!" He repeated louder wanting their attention.

"Hotel One. Over." Firestar mewed as he was on the other side of it.

"Firestar this is Cowboy. Craze is hit. Booby trap." Cowboy shouted to him what the situation was. Firestar soon spoke.

"Roger. Understand. Wait One." Cowboy was looking around nervously as they were in the need of the help. Firestar spoke to Cowboy. "You're senior N.C.O. You take charge and continue on with the patrol. Call in at the next checkpoint. Over." Cowboy was now put in charge of the situation.

"Roger. Out." Cowboy hung up as he was scared himself. He turned to Squirrelpaw. "I'm ssquad leader now. Squirrelpaw punched him with her paw reassuring him.

"I'll follow you anywhere scumbag." Squirrelpaw responded as Doc Jay looked up as Leafpaw and Mothwing followed his lead. It was the situation of Crazy Earl's life.

"He's dead." Doc Jay announced. The five cats stare at the body. They needed to move on.

The cats soon approached the area of a destroyed factory. It looked desolate enough to take with ease but there was going to be a thorn in their side. Eightball was looking at the map as Cowboy halted the patrol. Eightball gestured for Cowboy to move up while the others got down behind some of the rubble.

"Cowboy." Eightball whispered to Cowboy. Cowboy looked at him nervously.

"What's up?" Cowboy asked Eightball if he knew what was going on. Eightball got Cowboy the map as the two cats were beginning to study it. It was clear that they were lost.

"I think we made a mistake at the last check point." Eightball mewed as they were studying the map. They were looking over it as they knew they needed to be in a certain location at a certain time. "Here… see what you think. I think we should be here." Eightball handed Cowboy the map as they knew they needed to be right by the canal but they were a mile due north. They were heading east instead of northeast.

"We're here?" Cowboy asked as he pointed to the map on where they were. Eightball nodded.

"Yeah." Eightball responded. Cowboy soon spoke again.

"We should be here?" Cowboy asked pointing to another location on the map as it was a spot located to the north of the map.

"Yeah… yeah… that's right." Eightball responded. Cowboy felt confused and scared as the others moved up right behind him. Cowboy got out the compass as he knew they needed to head north. He soon got out a pair of binoculars as he looked out across the wall to the deserted factory. It was clear it could provide a shortcut across to get to their destination.

"Fuck… what do you think?" Cowboy asked if he thought that this was a good idea. Eightball soon nodded.

"I think we should change direction." Eightball came to the conclusion. Eightball didn't know what to do either but Cowboy needed to agree with him if they were to change direction. Cowboy soon agreed with him.

"Okay. We'll change direction." Cowboy responded. The factory seemed promising to providing a shortcut. He soon motioned for them to move up and take positions up behind the wall. Squirrelpaw came to Joker.

"What's up?" She asked him if he had an idea.

"Changing direction." Cowboy responded as he knew that the factory was a promising shortcut to get through. Squirrelpaw soon asked him.

"What, are we lost?" Squirrelpaw asked. Joker turned to her as he spoke.

"Yeah we are. The factory might be a shortcut for us to cut across and get to our position. We don't know what lies in there but by the looks of it. We suspect no one is in side." Cowboy responded. Squirrelpaw nodded as Cowboy turned to his squad. "Okay! Listen up! Can everyone hear me?" Cowboy asked them if they could hear him. They nodded.

"Yeah!" They whispered loudly. Cowboy smiled as he soon announced his plan.

"Okay, we're changing direction. We're heading over that way." Cowboy responded by pointing to the wreck of buildings that was to his left. "Eightball's gonna go out and see if he can find a way through. Everyone else stay put until he returns." Cowboy ordered. Cowboy soon excitedly got to his paws. "Got it?" Cowboy asked them.

"Yeah." They whispered to him. Cowboy nodded as he soon turned to Eightball.

"Eightball… let's dance." Eightball nodded as he got his M16A1 ready as he prepared to move out.

"Put a kittypet behind the trigger." Eightball slyly remarked to himself as he hopped over the wall to get a scout around the area. Contrary to their belief, the area was in fact mostly deserted except for one thorn. They hesistated to open fire seeing how there was no one fighting but if something happened to Eightball. They would open up so he could escape and give them something to be firing at. Cowboy watched Eightball from a distance as he was beginning to investigate the area.

Eightball continued to wander through the wrecked factory. Soon he didn't know what was going on but in one of the buildings, a Czechoslovakian Vz. 58 rile became visible as it belonged to an amateur sniper. Concealed in the wreckage of the 2nd floor building, it looked around as it saw Eightball peer into view. Cowboy could see Eightball and so could the sniper. The rifle was slowly aimed at Eightball. It was waiting for Eightball to feel a sense of all clear to see if they could move up. Eightball continued to look around before turning back to the squad.

"Hey Cowboy, the area is clear. We should begin moving the troops through…" But before Eightball could finish his sentence, the sniper fired, striking Eightball in the leg. Eightball screamed before crumbling to the ground. The squad began to open fire as they were trying to locate where the threat was. The bullets were heard as they were spraying all over the place. Spiderpaw fired his grenade launcher at the building while Ashfur fired his M72 Law at the factory taking out a good chunk of the factory. Cowboy knew they had to stop firing.

"Cool it, Damn Starclan! Cool it! Cease Fire!" Cowboy ordered them as the gunfire was soon reduced to nothing. Squirrelpaw and the others decided to use the time to reload as Cowboy wanted to gather their wits together.

"Okay, listen up! Did anybody see a sniper? Did anybody see anything?" Cowboy asked them as he was wondering if they saw anything. Spiderpaw soon turned to the others.

"Did anybody see a sniper?" Spiderpaw repeated after Cowboy. Everyone nodded no as the Sniper was further down into the factory.

"No." Doc Jay replied.

"Nothing." Crowpaw spoke out.

"Negative." Rafter-man spoke out.

"Nothing." Spiderpaw spoke as the rest of the squad continued to reply no. Cowboy soon looked at them as he soon gave further orders.

"Okay, then save your ammo! Nobody fire till I tell you." Cowboy gave the instructions. They knew they had to keep still and wait for orders as they wanted to see what would happen to Eightball.

The sniper was looking down the sights as Eightball was beginning to crawl back to the front lines to get some medical attention. The sniper soon shot at Eightball striking him in one of his front legs. Eightball screamed in pain as the squad opened fire on the building again as they wanted to get the sniper out of there.

"No, no!" Cease fire! Cease fire!" Cowboy shouted as they all ceased their fire except for Cloudtail who was still firing away with his M60 Machine gun. "Cloudtail, cease fire!" Cowboy shouted at him as Cloudtail stopped. He didn't want to overheat the barrel as he ceased. Steam was hissing from the barrel was it was hot from the firing. Crowpaw soon grabbed the radio.

"Cowboy, its Firestar." Crowpaw mewed to him. Cowboy took the radio as he began to speak into it.

"This is Cowboy. Over." Cowboy called out to Firestar.

"This is Firestar. What is your present position? Over." Firestar asked him. Cowboy soon knew he had to call in for back up.

"Firestar, we're receiving enemy sniper fire." Cowboy told him as they needed the back up. "Eightball is down. Our position is about half a klick north of checkpoint four. Believe possible strong enemy force occupying buildings in front of us. Request tank support over." Firestar soon spoke over the radio.

"Roger. Understood. I'll see what I can do over." Firestar responded. Cowboy nodded as he soon finished.

"Roger. Over and out." Cowboy mewed before he hung up turning to Crowpaw. "Stay close" Crowpaw knew he wasn't moving an inch with Leafpaw by his side.

"Got it." Crowpaw mewed as Cowboy began to think. He knew that there might be more than just a sniper as he was preparing to fall back. Cowboy soon turned to the others.

"Okay, listen up! I think we're being set up for an ambush. I think there may be a strong enemy force in those buildings over there. I requested tank support. We're gonna sit tight until it comes. If they decide to hit us, we'll have to pull back fast." Cowboy gave their instructions but the sniper had other instructions. It soon fired into Eightball who was still alive as he was shot in one of his paws. He shrieks as all the cats sprang up and began firing away again at the buildings as Cowboy needed to silence them again.

"Damn Starclan! Hold!" Cowboy shouted at them as they stopped firing except for Cloudtail who was still spraying away with the M60. Cowboy needed to silence him again. "Cease your fire Cloudtail! Cease your fucking fire!" Cloudtail stopped to give his M60 some time to cool down. Doc Jay had enough of this.

"Cowboy!" Doc Jay told him he prepared the medical equipment. Cowboy turned to him.

"What? Cowboy turned his head to Doc Jay who was ready to run.

"We can't leave him out there!" Doc Jay told him as they didn't want to Leave Eightball to bleed to death. Cowboy was reassuring him that they weren't going to abandon him.

"We're not leaving him! We'll get him when the tank comes up." Cowboy told Doc Jay that they weren't going to leave Eightball out there.

"He's hit three fucking times! He can't wait that long!" Doc Jay shouted at Cowboy. Squirrelpaw was listening as she was all for supporting him. Cowboy knew how the situation was playing out.

"I've seen this before! That sniper's just trying to suck us in one at a time!" Cowboy told them as he knew how the situation was playing itself out. The sniper fired again hitting Eightball in the thigh as he screamed. His cries echoing back to the front lines. Cloudtail began firing away madly.

"Damn Starclan! No!" Cowboy shouted as the rest of the squad began to fire away to see if it would lure the sniper out there. Cowboy had to control the squad.

"Damn Starclan, cease fire!" Cowboy shouted as the fire dwindled down to nothing.

"He's out there alone!" Cloudtail shouted as he wanted to go retrieve him. Cowboy knew he had to keep them put.

"Stay put until the tank roles up and supports us." Cowboy told him. Doc Jay completely snapped at that moment as he knew he couldn't leave Eightball out there alone.

"Toms, fuck this, fuck this shit! I'm going out to bring him in!" Doc Jay shouted as he prepared to retrieve Eightball. Cowboy soon wanted him to stay put.

"No! You stay the fuck down!" Cowboy shouted at Doc Jay. Doc Jay ignored him as he prepared to make a run for it.

"Cover me!" Doc Jay told them as they all sprang to their paws and began to open fire as he ran out there. Cowboy was losing control of the squad. Doc Jay zig zagged along as the squad covers him as he soon got their safely and dropped out of sight for a moment. Cowboy wanted control of the squad.

"Damn Starclan! Damn Starclan! Okay, cease fire! He's there!" Cowboy called out. Soon their firing stopped as Cowboy spotted Doc Jay working his way to Eightball. Doc Jay grabbed Eightball and began to drag him back.

The sniper was looking out of its post seeing Doc Jay drag Eightball back as he wanted to bring him back alive. The sniper soon fired a clean shot hitting Doc Jay in his joint in his back leg. Doc Jay fell as the squad opened fire again wildly spraying away. Cowboy turned his head as he wanted them to be silence.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Cease Fire! You can't see the sniper! Save your ammo!" Cowboy shouted at them as they soon stopped. Cowboy wanted a firm control on them. "Nobody fire till I tell you! Nobody! Cowboy shouted at them. Cloudtail was wondering what they do now.

"What the fuck do we do now, Cowboy?" Cloudtail asked him wondering what they do. Cowboy turned to Crowpaw who was huddling by with Leafpaw.

"Give me the fucking radio." Cowboy ordered Crowpaw. Crowpaw scuttled the radio over as Cowboy picks it up.

"Firestar, this is Cowboy. Over." Cowboy began to speak to Firestar over the radio. Firestar soon spoke.

"This is Firestar over." Firestar responded. Cowboy was wondering what was going on as he spoke to Firestar.

"Firestar, we're in some deep shit. I got two cats down. What's the story on that fucking tank? Over." Cowboy asked Firestar on what his story was on that tank. Was it coming? Where was it. Firestar spoke back with a reply.

"Sorry, Cowboy. No luck so far with the tank. Will advise over." Firestar spoke as there was no luck with the tank. Cowboy knew that things weren't going his way but he had to accept it.

"Roger. Out." Cowboy hung up the radio passing back to Crowpaw. "Numbnut bastards!" Cowboy muttered to himself. He soon thought about his squad as he turned to them. "Okay, listen up!" Cowboy began. Spiderpaw passed the message.

"Listen up!" Spiderpaw shouted to them. Cowboy soon made the announcement.

"Can't afford to wait for the tank. I think they're gonna hit us any minute. When they do, we won't have time to pull out. We gotta do it now. Let's get ready to move." Cowboy announced as he they were getting ready to pull out from the situation.

"Get ready to pull out!" Spiderpaw shouted to them. Everyone was divided on leaving or staying. Cloudtail soon spoke.

"Wait a minute! Hold it! Hold it! Nobody's pulling out! There's only one fucking sniper out there!" Cloudtail ordered as pulling out would show that they were wimps. Cowboy had to keep the squad in line.

"Back off, Cloudtail! I'm calling the plays! I say we're pulling out!" Cowboy told him that they were leaving and that was final. Cloudtail wasn't going to leave the two of them out there.

"Yeah, well, what about Doc Jay and Eightball?" Cloudtail asked as he knew he couldn't leave them behind. Cowboy soon spike.

"I know it's a shitty thing to do, but we can't refuse to accept the situation." Cowboy mewed as he knew they needed to fall back thinking that there was a much larger force in there but in reality, it was just that one sniper.

"Yeah, well, we're not leaving Doc Jay and Eightball out there!" Cloudtail mewed as he wanted to get them and bright them back home. Cowboy wanted to argue with him thinking he was wrong.

"Doc Jay and Eightball are wasted! You know that!" Cowboy shouted at Cloudtail as Cloudtail was still in denial.

"Bullshit! Come on you cats! We gotta go bring 'em back! Let's go get 'em! Let's do it!" Cloudtail tried to rally them together seeing how they should race up and try to retrieve them. Cowboy was boiling as he knew Cloudtail was going to get himself killed.

"Stand down Cloudtail! That's a direct order!" Cowboy shouted at Cloudtail as he was telling him his option was better. The sniper fired into Doc Jay's front leg wounding him again trying to drag Eightball out of there. Cloudtail had enough of it at this point as Doc Jay screamed in pain.

"FUCK YOU COWBOY! FUCK ALL YOU ASSHOLES!" Cloudtail shouted as he sprang to his paws firing away with his M60 as he began to run to their positions. They soon sprang up as they began firing away to support him as he ran to Doc Jay and Eightball. Fucking son-of-a-bitch! You motherfucker! Aaagh! Whooo!" Cloudtail shouted firing in wild bursts with the M60 using the recoil to balance the gun's weight. He was soon firing it with one paw and using the other one to hold the belt of ammo feeding it. Cloudtail continued charging as he soon reached some cover as He dropped at his location as he fired away at the buildings as he stopped. The barrel to his M60 Machine gun was boiling considering how much ammo he shot off. He soon turned to Doc Jay upon him and Eightball were barely alive. "Doc! Doc! Doc!" Cloudtail called out to Doc Jay. Doc Jay turned his head. "Where's the sniper." Doc Jay could barely speak as he couldn't move that well. "Doc Where's the sniper." Doc Jay pointed in the direction of the sniper as automatic gun fire opened up as they were riddled with bullet fire from the sniper killing him and Eightball instantly.

Cloudtail's eyes widened with horror as he knew that the sniper was nearby. Cursing under his breath. He soon began to sneak up to where the sniper was. Soon a shot was fired as the shot ricochet off the side of the building just inches from Cloudtail's head. Cloudtail turned as he began working his way back. He carefully moved along as he stuck to the side of another building of the factory. He soon approached the door holding his M60 up as he looked inside. He saw nobody was inside as he turned to Cowboy.

"Hey Cowboy!" Cloudtail shouted to him as he was wondering what was going on.

"Yeah?" Cowboy shouted as he was wondering what the news was.

"Doc Jay and Eightball are wasted! There's only one sniper, and nothing else. Move up the squad! You're clear up to here! Come on!" Cloudtail shouted as they were clear up to where he was. Cowboy knew that he had to risk more of the squad to clear out the sniper.

"Son-of-a-bitch." Cowboy muttered to himself as he turned to see what he could do. He soon turned to the squad.

"Okay listen up! Leafpaw, Mothwing, Crowpaw, Whitepaw, Spiderpaw. You come with me and We'll take a look. The rest of you, stay put and cover our asses! We may be coming back in a big hurry!" Cowboy ordered them. Squirrelpaw saw that Leafpaw was going in there alone so she wanted to come along with her.

"I'm going with you." Squirrelpaw admitted as she volunteered for the task. Her friend turned as he wanted to come along.

"I'm coming too." Rafter-man responded. Cowboy nodded as he looked to the others looking for more volunteers.

"Okay. You all set?" Cowboy asked the cats wondering if they were set for the task.

"Yeah!" The cats cheered. Cowboy nodded as he began to lead them away.

"Let's move out!" Cowboy ordered as they hopped over the wall to support Cloudtail.

"Let's do it!" Spiderpaw cheered. They now had one mission and one mission only.

Killing the sniper.

**[A/N]: Might as well cut it here since this chapter is mighty long as I want to leave the climax for another chapter.**

**Also happy Valentine's day for those that celebrate it and I hope you enjoy yourselves. I'll see you in the next chapter when they kill the sniper.**


	15. Final words for us all

Cowboy, Squirrelpaw and the others soon made their way to where Cloudtail was as he pointed to the building on where he thought the sniper was. He soon crouched down as he began to lead the others in. They followed behind him as they wanted to find out where the sniper was. Cloudtail soon turned to Cowboy.

"Cowboy… top of the black building, around the corner." Cloudtail pointed to the building, they nodded as they began to move cautiously to the building as it commanded the square. They soon duck back around the corner looking more uncertain about what was going to happen. Cowboy turned to Crowpaw.

"Crowpaw… give me the radio." Cowboy told him. Crowpaw soon got out the radio as they wanted to present their current positions. Cowboy was unaware he was exposing himself to the sniper through a jagged hole in the building. The sniper raised the Vz. 58 looking at Cowboy's upper torso. Cowboy soon began to speak into the radio. "Firestar, this is Cowboy. Over." Cowboy began. He was wondering if Firestar was on the other side. The radio crackled then Firestar spoke.

"This is Firestar what is your request?" Firestar asked him on what Cowboy needed. Cowboy soon spoke.

"We would like the tank now if you have any on standby…" Before Cowboy could even finish his sentence, the sniper fired. The bullet hitting Cowboy in the chest as they begin to panic.

"Cowboy!" Squirrelpaw shouted. Cloudtail was firing away using his M60 as Rafter-man peeked through the hole.

"Holy shit! The sniper's got a clean shot through the hole in the wall!" Rafter-man shouted. Another shot was fired but Rafter-man dodged the bullet as the second shot hits Cowboy in the throat. Squirrelpaw was beginning to panic.

"Get him! Get him the fuck outta here!" Squirrelpaw shouted as she, Rafter-man, Mothwing and Leafpaw carried him away. Crowpaw followed them as they all carried a wounded Cowboy to cover.

"Easy! Easy!" Squirrelpaw told them as Leafpaw was fumbling around with the bandages.

"Get him on his back." Crowpaw instructed them as they laid Cowboy down. Leafpaw and Mothwing were determined to try to save Cowboy's life. Cowboy spoke.

"Oh I don't believe this shit." Cowboy mewed weakly as he was bleeding badly. Squirrelpaw wanted to make sure he would be alright.

"Shut up! You'll be all right Cowboy." Squirrelpaw mewed to him as Leafpaw and Mothwing were trying their best to stop the bleeding.

"Take it easy, Cowboy." Leafpaw instructed as she was putting pressure on the wounds. Four pairs of paws were trying to do something to make sure he would make it.

"Uhhhh, that son-of-a-bitch!" Cowboy moaned, it was clear Cloudtail was going to get them killed one by one. He knew he shouldn't have moved up.

"You're gonna be all right." Squirrelpaw tried to tell him that he will be fine but the situation was quickly getting worse.

"You're going home, Cowboy. You're going home." Leafpaw tried to tell him to stay alive but Cowboy's life was still slipping.

"Easy. Take it easy." Crowpaw mewed to them as Leafpaw was still trying to patch him together.

"Ohhhh, don't shit me, Joker! Don't shit me!" Cowboy moaned as he was still bleeding. It turned out the bulleted had severed some major arteries in Cowboy.

"I wouldn't shit you, Cowboy. You're my favorite turd in the squad." Squirrelpaw responded. Cowboy was slowly beginning to lose consciousness. "Cowboy?" Squirrelpaw mewed as she wanted to keep him alive.

"Hang on, Cowboy. Hang on!" Crowpaw shouted as thing would be all right but his life was slipping out of their reach. Cowboy coughed.

I… I can hack it." Cowboy coughed some more. Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw were trying to get him to hang in there but it was already too late.

"You can hack it." Leafpaw mewed trying to get Cowboy to keep hanging in there.

"I can. I-I…" Cowboy coughed one more time coughing up blood that was spilling into his lungs. His eyes went dull as he fell limp in Squirrelpaw's grasp. Squirrelpaw knocked onto him as he didn't more nor respond. Cowboy died in her grasp." Squirrelpaw bend down as she began to cry into Cowboy as he was her other friend other than Pyle that she met in Bootcamp. Mothwing was the first to look up followed by Crowpaw and then Leafpaw. Squirrelpaw was the last to get up as she was trying to wipe away the rest of her tears. She not only felt miserable but she felt angry at who would do such a thing. Cloudtail had walked over to them as Cowboy lay where she put him down. Cloudtail rested his paw on Squirrelpaw.

"It's okay. This type of stuff happens in the war. Not everyone makes it at the end. Now how about we go and get some payback." Cloudtail tried to motivate her. Squirrelpaw turned to face him as her misery was replaced by vengeance.

"Yeah." She hissed. She was ready to snap as well. They soon went back to the square as they all huddled around.

"Give 'em some smoke." Cloudtail instructed them as they would use the smoke to conceal their movement. He had run out of ammo for the M60 and resorted to using his second weapon in his arsenal, his PPSh-41 he snagged sometime during his service. This weapon was suited for close combat as they would be heading into the factory. He and Squirrelpaw tossed three smoke grenades as they would soon be storming into the building. The grenades soon exploded with a dull bang as smoke began to fill the area. Once completely filled, they soon charged across the square in the blinding smoke as they soon entered into the now burning factory as some small fires had now started for when they were trying to take out the sniper earlier.

With the darkness approaching as the day was drawing to a close. They were looking in as they wanted to be able to flush the sniper out as the building was shattered past twisted steel girders and huge broken chunks of concrete. They soon came to a place where they knew they had to split up. Cloudtail looked at them as he wanted to make sure they could get through.

"Crowpaw, Leafpaw, and Spiderpaw that way. Squirrelpaw, Rafter-man, on me. Mothwing, Whitepaw, stay put and wait for the wounded to come out." Cloudtail instructed. They all nodded as they soon split up through the burning factory.

The three cats worked their way through as they were trying to locate the sniper in this factory ruin. They worked their way to the west side where the bullets were fired on Doc Jay and Eightball hours before. They were soon on the second floor as the fire continued to get worse.

"Squirrelpaw in there, Rafter-man, on me." Cloudtail instructed as he pointed Squirrelpaw to the left as he wanted to go check the room in front of him. Squirrelpaw nodded but she gulped nervously as she knew she was going in alone. She soon headed left.

Squirrelpaw wandered through the building as she was looking around. The room was large and open as it was the lobby. The room was on fire with shattered columns, oriental arches and windows with large decorative grillwork. Squirrelpaw heard something as she ducked back to one of the shattered columns. She soon decided to peer around the column as she was trying to figure out what was going on but it was clear that someone else was in the room too. There the cat holding the Vz. 58 in the paws of the enemy that they were going to go after: The sniper.

Squirrelpaw leaped up as she reached for her M16A1 as she squeezed the trigger but nothing came out as she realized her worst fears had come true. Her rifle jammed. She was working on the bolt as the sniper turned around. The sniper was a She-cat and the age of a kit before becoming an apprentice. She fired away with her Vz. 58 at Squirrelpaw who ducked behind one of the concrete Pillars for cover. She soon figured she can fix the problem later as she dropped the rifle and went for her pistol to wound the sniper. The sniper continued firing away as she was beautiful yet completely startled as Squirrelpaw prepared for the worse. Soon the sniper was hit by fire coming in from the side as it turned out it was Rafter-man with his rifle functioning as he shot the sniper. The sniper soon fell after being pierced with six bullets. Squirrelpaw was shaking as she picked up the rifle and handed it to Rafter-man who was T-bagging on the sniper's body. She handed him her M16A1.

"Try to unjam it for me please?" She asked. Rafter-man nodded as he got to work. Squirrelpaw was looking at the downed sniper.

"We got the sniper!" Cloudtail called out. He looked down to the sniper who she was trembling from her wounds. Cloudtail lightly kicked the Vz. 58 from her reached as he felt sorry for her. Almost if he felt remorse for the dogs he helped back in the war when he was just an apprentice himself. "Squirrelpaw?" Cloudtail asked.

"Yo." Squirrelpaw responded. Cloudtail wanted to continue the conversation.

"What's up?" Cloudtail asked Squirrelpaw as Squirrelpaw turned to him.

"We got the sniper." Squirrelpaw responded. Leafpaw, Crowpaw and Spiderpaw entered the room as Rafterman solved the jam issure as he tossed the rifle back to Squirrelpaw. He soon reloaded his own rifle in the process.

"I saved Squirrelpaw's ass. I got the sniper. I fucking blew her away!" Rafter-man laughed hysterically as he kissed his rifle. "Am I bad? Am I a life-taker? Am I a heart-breaker?" No one payed attention to Rafter-man as Mothwing and Whitepaw came in as they looked at the sniper. The sniper was gasping and whimpering as they couldn't understand what she was saying.

"What is she saying?" Crowpaw asked her wondering what she was saying. Squirrelpaw was listening in on this as she listened to the sniper.

"She's praying." Squirrelpaw responded. Spiderpaw just laughed as he spoke.

"No more boom-boom for this baby-san. There's nothing we can do for her. She's dead meat." Spiderpaw taunted as he loved the fact that she was going to die. Mothwing had enough of this as she turned.

"Okay. Let's get the fuck outta here." Mothwing spoke. Squirrelpaw knew what about the sniper.

"What about her?" Squirrelpaw asked them as she pointed to the sniper whose eyes were going wild. Mothwing spoke.

"Fuck her. Let her rot." Mothwing responded as she prepared to leave. Cloudtail crouched down to her as he felt remorse for their killer.

"We can't just leave her." Squirrelpaw mewed to Mothwing. Cloudtail soon got his M60 propping the sniper's head up so she could breathe.

"Hey asshole… Cowboy's wasted. You're fresh out of friends. I'm running this squad now and I say we leave the gook for the mother lovin' rats." Mothwing shouted at her as Cloudtail felt mercy. He soon got out his canteen of water as he began giving the sniper some water to drink. Squirrelpaw looked at Mothwing.

"I'm not trying to run this squad. I'm just saying we can't leave her like this." Squirrelpaw responded as she didn't want to leave the sniper to rot. Cloudtail was giving the wounded sniper water as Mothwing looked down to her.

"le… le-let me. Let me… live." The sniper whimpered as Mothwing looked at Squirrelpaw.

"If you want to waste her, go on, waste her." Mothwing gave her the pistol. Squirrelpaw was faced with a stark choice. Shoot the sniper or help Cloudtail. The sniper was beginning for her life as Cloudtail was trying to save her. Mothwing wanted the sniper dead as vengeance for killing three of their own. Everyone had their eyes on Squirrelpaw.

"Let… me… live. Let… me… live." The sniper gasped as Cloudtail was still tending to her. Mothwing soon kicked the canteen from Cloudtail's paws and scooted the M60 away from her head causing her to fall flat. Cloudtail went to get his empty canteen. Squirrelpaw was shaking as she held the pistol over her head as she didn't want to shoot her but Mothwing demanded her to be killed.

"Listen its best I try to do this. Cloudtail wants her to live. I say we should just take her back to camp." Squirrelpaw mewed as a part of her didn't want to kill the sniper. Mothwing looked at her.

"The gook doesn't deserve to live. Do it or I will do it myself." Mothwing threatened her as Squirrelpaw looked at the sniper.

"Let… me… live." The sniper pleaded. Squirrelpaw closed her eyes as she looked away. She was shaking holding the pistol over the sniper's head and with one last shred of innocence left. She jerked the trigger. Bang! The shot had torn through the sniper's head as she was laying there motionless. Cloudtail was beginning to weep. Rafter-man looked at Squirrelpaw.

"Squirrelpaw. We're gonna have to put you up for the congressional medal of ugly." Rafter-man laughed as she didn't feel too bad about his remarks but she did feel bad for the sniper. Mothwing smiled as she spoke to Squirrelpaw.

"Hard core Squirrelpaw. Fucking hard core." Mothwing smiled as Squirrelpaw went through with it. Crowpaw bowed with dismay as he knew he couldn't trust Mothwing again. They all began to leave one by one except for Cloudtail who looked at the sniper's dead body as he took the rifle and her ammo and magazines. He soon put flowers over her as he molded her into a burial corpse as he looked at her.

"I'll be sure to make a grave for you one day sweet sniper. I hope we meet again in the sky." Cloudtail weeped as he would have buried her in a sign of respect but since none of them had shovels they were going to leave her in the open. Cloudtail had some respect for her as he walked off weeping knowing it was just another life he couldn't save.

The cats were all marching together. Singing a song of their favorite cartoon character growing up as Squirrelpaw spoke to herself while they marched through a city of raging fires. A scene from the Dark Forest.

"We had nailed our names in the pages of history enough for today. We hump down to the perfume river to settle in for the night." Squirrelpaw spoke to herself. The apprentices were singing the loudest. A select few weren't as they were heart broken or in deep sorrow.

"_B-a-s-s-e-t H-o-u-n-d. We play fair, we work hard and we're in harmony. B-a-s-s-e-t H-o-u-n-d. Basset hound. Basset hound! Basset hound. Basset hound! Forever let us hold our banner high. High. High. High._" The cats sang as they marched along with the older warriors being lower as the younger apprentices. They kept singing as several cats remained silent. "_Tom and She-cats from far and near you're welcome as can be. B-a-s-s-e-t h-o-u-n-d. Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?_" They continued to sing as Squirrelpaw began to mewed to herself about what she learned so far from Bootcamp until now.

"My thoughts drift back to erect nipple wet dreams. About Mary Jane Rottencrotch and the great homecoming fuck fantasy. I'm so happy that I am alive, in one piece and in short. I'm in a world of shit… yes. But I am alive and I am not afraid." Squirrelpaw mewed to herself as her fellow platoon members continued to sing.

"_Come along and sing this song and join our family. B-a-s-s-e-t h-o-u-n-d. Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? B-a-s-s-e-t h-o-u-n-d. Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! You're welcome as can be. B-a-s-s-e-t h-o-u-n-d. Basset hound. Basset hound! Basset hound. Basset hound! Forever let us hold our banner high. High! High! High!_" The cats continued to sing through the wreckage. Cloudtail soon spoke to himself.

"In the end. They say we're the heroes when in reality; we're more of the villains. The Vietnamese don't want us here and they told us we need to go there to control them. It is only a matter of time before we're kicked out of the country and we would fall. I knew I couldn't trust Mothwing and how insane she is. She would go off with a section eight and hopefully a lifetime prison sentence I always think of it. No one wanted to associate with her for the rest of the war. I vow to do my best to make sure that everyone enemy or friend would make it out alive. I hold no grudges on the cats Vietnam but they held the grudges on us. This war was moreover a war of politics and not about our freedom. It was one of the wars Thunderclan should have kept their noses out of." Cloudtail mewed to himself as because of this war, Thunderclan would never be the same.

End of part 2 (Story)

**[A/N]: They often say the first victim of the war is the one who is shot first but it's the innocence of a person that is the first to go. Reflecting on this, it's clear that there are those who want to try their best at what they do and those that are complete monsters. Always listen to those whose opinions are completely unbiased.**

**While not the most popular story that I have written. It definitely has a lot of hidden meetings in it as the cats are possibly marching to an unknown faith. Also would you like to see more stories centered around war or I should go back to milder stories and call it a day for now? Let me know what you would want me to do next.**

**In the memory of the 58,318 Americans that were killed in Vietnam. This was a war that we shouldn't have gotten ourselves into. I really care for where we live but no one wants to be controlled at the end and we paid the price for it. So if there any veterans reading this. My mind and heart go to you and your friends as well as the Nearly 1 million dead N.V.A and Vietcong soldiers. It's sad when so many gave their lives for something that wasn't necessary. I guess I need a break to collect myself and prepare for the next story so I'll see you until then.**


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